


can we surrender?

by dryadfiona



Series: the journey of us [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:29:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 73,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21699271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryadfiona/pseuds/dryadfiona
Summary: Marcus Pierce shoots Charlotte Richards. She doesn't die. They've gotta take down the Sinnerman somehow.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Series: the journey of us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904215
Comments: 325
Kudos: 866





	1. who shot charlotte richards?

"I've been trying to go back to the way things were, you know, playing our greatest hits because..."

Chloe's phone rings. She hits reject without checking to see who's calling, something she never would've done before Lucifer became her partner, but. This is important. She's not sure what this _is,_ exactly, but she can count on one hand the amount of times Lucifer's been as open as he's being right now.

He never lies to her. But he doesn't do this often, either.

"Is that--"

"It doesn't matter," Chloe says. "Keep going."

Lucifer takes a breath. "You were right. I've been avoiding dealing with things in the present, like...how I feel about--" His phone rings. He doesn't break eye contact with her, but he picks up and says, "This isn't a good t--what?"

He starts to walk away, reaching his hand back for her, like he always does. Chloe takes it, like she always does. He's holding her hand a little tighter than usual. "We'll be there soon," he says tersely, and hangs up. 

"Lucifer, are you okay?" she asks.

"Charlotte's been shot."

"Oh my God."

He doesn't tell her not to talk about his dad, which is saying something. He walks a little too quickly for her to keep up easily, which says more. 

"Detective, if I drive--"

"Put the sirens on," she says, already sliding into the passenger seat. "I know someone in the precinct gave you them, we need to get to the hospi--" She stops halfway through pulling her phone out. "It...it is the _hospital,_ right?"

"Yes," Lucifer says, and out of the corner of her eye, she can see him smiling. "Yes. Amenadiel says she's in critical condition, but he thinks she'll pull through."

"Amenadiel?" she asks, half-distracted. Of course Dan was who called her. She hits call back without even thinking about it. "How did--Dan?"

"Chloe," Dan says, and he sounds wrecked. "Charlotte--"

"We heard," Chloe says. "We're on our way. Are you okay?"

Dan doesn't say anything. She can picture the exact look on his face--jaw clenched, eyes fixed on Charlotte if she's there and on nothing at all if she isn't. 

"Dan."

"Sorry," Dan finally says. "I just--wanna find the bastard who did this."

"I know," Chloe says. "We're going to, Dan." She pretends not to notice Lucifer glancing over at her when she says "we".

"Okay. Good."

There's a beat of silence.

"Why don't you go make sure everything's okay with Charlotte's room?" she tries. "Or her insurance. You won't feel better until you get something done."

"I'll feel better once she's out of surgery," Dan says, harsher than he needs to be.

Chloe doesn't say anything.

"Sorry," he says. "Not your fault."

"It isn't. Go."

He hangs up.

"Detective," Lucifer says. "Are you alright?"

Chloe half-laughs. "Not really. You?"

"Not really."

He's driving faster than she does with her lights on, but she can't bring herself to care. "So how did Amenadiel know that Charlotte was shot before we did?"

"He was with her, apparently."

Chloe turns her head to look at him. His hands are white-knuckled on the steering wheel, and he's staring ahead without really seeming to see the road. It should worry her--he's easily more than twice the speed limit. Still, she's trusted him with her life before, and she doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

"Is he okay?" she asks.

He scoffs. "Physically? Fine. He plans on bringing divine wrath to whoever shot Charlotte, though."

"Div--right." She should be relieved that he's back to these--metaphors, or whatever. She is, sort of, but she can still hear the steering wheel creaking with how tight he's holding onto it.

Chloe puts her hand on his shoulder. "They're gonna be okay, Lucifer."

He exhales, and she can almost feel the tension melting away. "I hope so, Detective."

They don't say anything for the rest of the car ride. She doesn't move her hand until they're pulling into the hospital parking lot.

_Hey Dan, where are you in the hospital?_

Dan doesn't respond, but that isn't a huge shock. He's probably forgotten he has a phone at all, too focused on whatever he's doing to distract himself. Lucifer opens her door for her--didn't he just get out of his own side?--and helps her out. He drops her hand after her feet are on the ground. She tries to ignore her disappointment.

The fluorescent hospital lights are a shock to her eyes after so long outside. Lucifer doesn't seem to have that problem, walking towards the front desk and asking where they can find Charlotte Richards. The nurse at the desk tells them to go to the fourth floor without so much as a "what do you desire?" from Lucifer or seeing Chloe's badge.

They must look _bad_.

Chloe finds herself focusing on her breathing in the elevator. Inhale for four seconds, hold her breath for two seconds, and exhale for four seconds. Inhale, hold, exhale. Lucifer reaches over and grabs her hand. She squeezes it, and he squeezes back. It does more to ground her than a breathing exercise could.

"Thank you," she says.

"For what?" he says, but he doesn't let go of her hand.

The elevator doors slide open and Chloe sees Amenadiel, looking supremely awkward in the waiting room chairs. He's holding a cafeteria hot dog. It's definitely from Dan. They walk closer. Chloe reluctantly lets go of Lucifer's hand to sit down by him.

"Chloe," Amenadiel says. 

"Hey, Amenadiel," she says. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he says, almost surprised. "Why?"

"Lucifer said you were with Charlotte when she got shot."

Amenadiel's face darkens. "Yes."

Chloe waits.

"This is usually the part where you say more, brother," Lucifer says. If Amenadiel looks like he doesn't fit in this room, Lucifer definitely doesn't, wearing a three-piece suit and holding a cigarette between two fingers.

She stares at him.

"What?"

She gestures at the cigarette.

"Fine," he says, putting it out against one of the chairs. He shouldn't, obviously, but there isn't a lit cigarette in a hospital waiting room, so she's going to consider it a win.

"Chloe," Dan says, rushing up. He's holding a semi-crushed snack from the vending machine and looks like he's about six seconds from a complete nervous breakdown. "Thanks for--"

"Don't mention it," Chloe says. "She's my friend, too."

Amenadiel nods. "We will find who did this. I swear to you."

Dan smiles at the two of them, and it's a nice moment in the midst of a really, really shitty one.

"Not that you want my perspective," Lucifer adds cheerfully, "But I won't let whoever did this go unpunished either."

Dan turns to stare at Lucifer. His jaw works, like he wants to say something or maybe just deck him, but decides against it. 

"Right," Lucifer says. "Onto the question of the hour."

"And that would be?" Amenadiel asks.

"Who shot Charlotte Richards?"

Dan sits down next to Amenadiel. "What'd you see, man?"

Amenadiel shakes his head. "I didn't see anything. We were just--talking, and she suddenly moved in front of me." He swallows. "If she doesn't wake up, that's my fault." Lucifer starts to deny that, but Amenadiel shakes his head. "She saw me in danger and stepped in front of me. There is nothing I can do to fix that."

"We can catch who did this to her," Dan says. He doesn't look at Amenadiel.

"We will," Chloe says, newly determined. "Where's Ella?"

"Already at the scene," Dan says. "She says there isn't a lot there, but I don't think she's leaving until she finds something."

Amenadiel shifts uncomfortably in his seat, but doesn't respond to either her or Dan's questioning looks. 

"So who would try to hurt Charlotte?" Lucifer asks after a second.

"She's put away a lot of perps," Dan says quietly. "Could be anyone who got out recently."

"You said she stepped in front of you," Chloe says to Amenadiel. He nods. "So we're not looking for someone who'd hurt Charlotte. We're looking for someone who wants to kill you."

All of them turn to stare at Amenadiel. Lucifer looks away first, pulling out his phone.

"Amenadiel, who would want to kill you?" Chloe asks. She tries to be calm, but all she can think about is Charlotte--her _friend_ \--in surgery, who might not wake up, who might not make it at all.

"I don't know," Amenadiel says.

"Well, what do you do for a living?" Dan asks.

"I...am a therapist," Amenadiel says.

"Okay," Chloe says. "Do you have any patients with violent tendencies?"

"...no?" Amenadiel says. 

"What my brother is _trying_ to say," Lucifer interjects, "is that he doesn't want to break confidentiality."

"Yes. That." 

"I don't think Amenadiel needs you talking for him, Lucifer," Dan says.

"Have you met him? He should let me talk for him more often." Lucifer smiles, and Chloe wants to put her head in her hands and groan until all three of them stop talking. She doesn't, because after so much time living with Maze, her self-control is immaculate.

"Lucifer, you know what--"

"Stop," Chloe says. "Dan, stop antagonizing Lucifer. Amenadiel, if your life is _literally_ in danger, we can get a warrant for patient information. Lucifer, stop. Just--stop."

Refreshingly, all of them do. 

"There's no warrant necessary," Amenadiel says. "I'm confident this attack was not from one of my patients."

"Okay, is there anyone who wants to hurt you outside of work?" Chloe tries. "Any reason someone would have a grudge against you?"

"Not unless their grudge is actually with Lucifer," Amenadiel says.

Lucifer makes a vaguely offended sound. "It's not as though I go around talking about you with my enemies, Amenadiel. I can't think of anyone who hates me--other than Detective Douche here--that even knows you're...my brother."

Chloe notices the awkward pause. Dan doesn't, too irritated to focus on the details.

"Detective," Lucifer says, suddenly urgent, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course."

"Alone," he adds, helping her out of her chair and dragging her to another not-quite-private part of the room. 

"What's wrong?" she asks. It's too much like their conversation earlier, almost-intimate, and she's finding it hard to focus. But it's Lucifer and he still doesn't usually look this serious, so she ignores her feelings just like she has been for the past few months.

"I think I know who was trying to kill Amenadiel," Lucifer says. "And I need you to trust me."

"I do trust you," Chloe says, brow furrowed. "Lucifer, what--"

"It's the lieutenant."

Chloe sets her jaw. "Lucifer, just because you don't like him--"

"Chloe," Lucifer says, and she stops. "This isn't about how I feel about him. It's about how he feels about me."

"Even if he hates you, why would he try and kill Amenadiel and not you?" Chloe's tired. Her friend's life is in danger and this doesn't make any sense and she wishes she and Lucifer had gotten to finish their conversation _before_ the call because it's not as though they can do anything.

"Because Amenadiel is my father's favorite son," Lucifer says. He doesn't say God's favorite son. Whether that's because he's taking this seriously or he just wants Chloe to believe him, it works. 

"Okay," Chloe says. She takes a deep breath. "Okay. So he's...trying to get back at you by killing your brother? And pissing your dad off?"

"He's trying to piss my dad off," Lucifer says, phrasing incongruous with how he speaks normally, "Because he doesn't trust that I'll hold up my end of our bargain."

"And what bargain is that?"

"Oh, to end his endless existence, naturally," Lucifer says cheerfully. "Although I doubt he wants to die anymore. Thanks to you, Detective."

"Lucifer, you can't just accuse someone of attempted murder because of these metaphors," Chloe says, more irritated than she has been in a long time. "Marcus doesn't even know Charlotte's _been_ shot, I need to call--what now?"

Lucifer's eyes are fixed on something on the other side of the room. She turns to look and sees Marcus, talking to Dan in tones hushed enough that she can't hear a single word.

"Dan wouldn't have called him," Chloe says slowly. "He barely thought to call me and Ella. And Ella wouldn't call him unless she'd found something, and she would have told us first."

"I'm sorry, Detective," Lucifer says. "But there's things you don't know about Pierce."

"If you tell me he's Cain," Chloe says. "I'm going to throw you out a window."

"While he _is,_ " he says, annoyingly patient, "He's also the Sinnerman."

"He killed the Sinnerman. To defend you." She sounds more defensive than she'd like.

"No, that was one of his lackeys. Pierce was always head of the operation."

"I need--Lucifer, I _can't_ just take your word for this." She breathes in for four seconds, holds it for two, breathes out for four. "I need proof."

"Would you take Pierce having kidnapped someone?" he asks.

"Lucifer, what--"

"Mazikeen texted me while we were waiting," Lucifer says. "She says that Pierce kidnapped her after she refused to help kill Amenadiel."

Chloe doesn't say anything.

"Are you with me, Detective?"

She sighs. "Yeah. I'm with you."

"Good," Lucifer says. "Because I need your help to make sure he gets punished for this."

She puts a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay. We can assume Dan and Ella are willing to help--"

"Ella _loves_ the lieutenant, are you sure?"

Chloe half-laughs. "She's like family to me. I trust her."

"We need to make sure Daniel won't jump straight to murder when we tell him," Lucifer says. "Could you tell him?"

"Why didn't you tell us Pierce was the Sinnerman?" Chloe asks. "How long have you known?"

"Not the whole time," he says. "But I did try to tell you something was wrong."

"You told me he was Cain from the Bible. That's not the same as keeping me in the loop!"

"Well, it's not my fault you didn't believe me," Lucifer says, irritated. "Detective, we need to stop him, but if he finds out we're onto him, we--would you come to my penthouse later tonight, Detective?"

"Wh--"

"Chloe," Pierce says, suddenly far closer than she'd expected. It takes a ton of self-control not to flinch. "Lucifer."

"Lieutenant," Lucifer says. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry, I'll--" Pierce clears his throat. With a shock, Chloe realizes he's tearing up. The hairs on the back of her neck stands up. He's lying. She _knows_ he's lying. He doesn't get emotional, not like this, but--if she didn't know him, she'd be convinced.

She hadn't realized he was such a good liar. It's not a comforting realization. 

"I just wanted to let you know. We're going to find who's behind this." He pauses to see if either of them respond, but they don't. He walks away, and Chloe watches him go.

"Okay. You're right." Chloe closes her eyes for a second. "I'll see you tonight."

Lucifer nods. "Go home, Detective. Make sure the little urchin is alright."

"Why wouldn't she be?" Chloe asks.

"No reason at all," Lucifer says, gentler than he normally is. "But you're going to be tense until you check on her."

She laughs, quiet at first and then louder, more genuine. He looks at her like she's insane.

"Are you alright? Did you hit your head on something?"

"It's been a weird night," Chloe says, head in her hands, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. "But yeah. You're right. Just--"

There's something honest, genuine at the tip of her tongue, but there's already so much going on. She wants to see her daughter, make sure she's okay with her own two eyes. She wants to get a little too drunk. She wants, in all honesty, to go to sleep and wake up with all of this having been dealt with.

"I'll see you later tonight," she says.

Lucifer looks at her with an odd expression on his face.

"What?"

He hugs her. Chloe reacts before she's even really aware of what's going on, hugging him back. She can practically feel the tension melting out of her. They don't do this. The first time she hugged him, he froze up, awkwardly patting her back as if that was what you were supposed to do. He got better, sure, but she can't remember the last time he initiated anything like this.

She pulls back. "Thank you, Lucifer." She can't bring herself to look up at him. It's too much.

"See you tonight," he says.

She nods. She gives her goodbyes to Dan and Amenadiel and Pierce, who looks after her as she goes. Chloe was going to marry him. She was going to _marry_ him. 

Waiting for a Lyft in the parking lot gives her a chance to process. The air's just cold enough to be bracing. 

1\. Charlotte Richards was shot.

2\. Lieutenant Marcus Pierce (probably) shot her.

2a. She was going to marry him.

3\. Pierce is apparently the Sinnerman, the head of a criminal syndicate.

3a. Lucifer knew this and failed to share it.

3b. She was going to _marry him_.

Breaking it down doesn't make it make more sense, but it calms her down enough that she doesn't give away too much is wrong when talking with Trixie later.

"Mommy," Trixie says. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, monkey," Chloe lies. "I'll be fine. How's school going?"

Trixie talks about math and art and her boyfriend, which is not something Chloe feels equipped to deal with now, or ever.

The door opens and Chloe has to restrain herself from reaching for her gun.

"Hey," Maze says. She looks messed up, with a broken nose and a long cut along her face.

"Maze!" Trixie yells, running over and practically leaping into her arms. Maze catches her without even hesitating. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Trix," Maze says. She looks up at Chloe. "I'll watch her tonight."

"Oh. Right." She'd completely forgotten she was going to go see Lucifer tonight, to talk about _catching_ her _lieutenant_ who shot one of her _friends_. Fuck. "Thanks, Maze."

Maze nods, putting Trixie down. Chloe doesn't miss her wince when she bends down. "Anytime, Chloe."

"Are we...okay?" she can't help but ask.

Maze sighs. "Maybe."

* * *

It's always weird, having to go through Lux to visit Lucifer. Chloe's not dressed for a club, but people don't give her weird glances anymore. She's practically here more than she's at the precinct. The bartender--who she's pretty sure is named Percy--smiles at her and doesn't offer her a drink. 

She pushes her way through a few groups of people dancing to make her way to the elevator, hitting the door close button a few times more than usual once she gets there. Unsurprisingly, Lucifer is playing the piano when she gets up there. She doesn't recognize the song.

"Detective," Lucifer says.

"Lucifer," Chloe says, sitting down next to him. She sort of wants to play Heart and Soul again. Play their greatest hits, as it were. But they've got a killer to catch, and one who's in charge of the entire investigation. "Do you have a plan?"

Lucifer sighs, and stops playing. "We need to make sure Pierce doesn't know we're investigating him."

"Right."

"And...we need to make sure he thinks you're no longer interested in him."

Chloe scoffs. "Well, I'm not. Clearly."

"Well-aware," Lucifer says dryly. "But if you explain to him that you're not interested in him because you know he's a murderer, then the entire plan fails."

"I see what you mean," Chloe sighs. "So? What's the plan?"

"What, I have to do all the work?" Lucifer says, mock-offended. She grins despite herself. "I do have an idea, but I don't know if you'd be alright with it."

She waits a minute, but he doesn't say anything. "What is it?"

After another beat of silence, he says, "You could get married."

"To Pierce? That's ridiculous, I wouldn't be able to hide that I want _nothing_ to do with him."

"Not to Pierce," Lucifer says, taking a drink of bourbon. "To me."

Chloe almost chokes on air. "What?"

"For the case," Lucifer adds hurriedly. "Not--"

"Oh, well, I--"

"I'm just thinking about the case."

"Right."

Chloe's face feels too warm. She can't look right at Lucifer. 

"So," Lucifer says after what feels like hours but was probably closer to a minute. "If you have any other ideas, I'm all ears."

"It's not a bad idea," Chloe says.

"I'm aware it's not the best of--wait, what?"

Chloe tries very hard not to find his dumb-founded look endearing. "It's not a bad idea. It'll buy us a lot more time to investigate, and Pierce will probably leave me alone if he's, uh. Sad about us being together."

"Right. That's that, then," Lucifer says, getting up from the bench to get another drink.

"No, Lucifer, wait," Chloe says, turning to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Lucifer asks. He isn't looking at her.

"You're alright with this?" she asks.

"Again, why wouldn't I be?"

Chloe swallows. She thought their talk earlier was--well, something it wasn't, clearly. It's a good plan, and she should be relieved that they have a plan at all, but she has a knot in her stomach. 

Breathe in for four seconds, hold for two, exhale for another four.

"No reason, I guess."

Lucifer doesn't say anything, and for a second she hopes he might turn around, finish that conversation from earlier. He doesn't, stepping back towards the bar and pouring himself more than he normally does.

"Will you be alright with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asks.

"Do--Daniel?"

Chloe shakes her head. "I'll explain to him what's going on."

"What about your offspring?"

"I'll talk to her about it," she says dully. "I'm not going to lie to her."

"I never would've suggested you do," Lucifer says, finally turning to look at her. The lights are dim enough that she can't quite make out his expression even from only a few feet away. "I just--"

"It was your idea, Lucifer," she says, hoping she doesn't sound as harsh as she feels. "Why are you trying to talk me out of it?"

"Because, Detective," he says, "I want to make sure you know what you're getting into. This is already going to be one of our hardest cases. You're going to be lying for _weeks_. If not more."

"You don't lie," Chloe says, brow furrowed. "How are you okay with this?"

Lucifer shrugs. "I'll be careful with my phrasing. I managed this with Pierce, didn't I? I'd much prefer being married to you."

That's not what Chloe wants to hear right now. "Great."

"Well. Let's work out the logistics of this, then, shall we?"

He walks past her, and it's not a brush-off, but it feels like it. She'd thought they meant something. Hell, she'd talked to Ella about Lucifer meaning more to her than she'd realized earlier _today_. But if he can do this without so much as an explanation of how he really feels, then clearly they're not on the same page.

She turns to look at him. "Let's get to it."


	2. god's a capitalist?

Chloe walks over to the couch Lucifer is sitting on. She's a little unfocused, sitting a few inches farther from him than she would normally. He looks over at her, bewildered, and she doesn't meet his eyes, grabbing his glass and taking a drink to soothe her nerves.

"Okay." 

"...okay," Lucifer says, confused. "Are you sure you're alright, Detective?"

"Yup," she says, taking one more drink before handing his glass back. "How are we gonna do this?"

"I hadn't come up with much more than the marriage plot, to be honest," Lucifer admits. She cracks a grin despite herself, relieved that they still seem to be okay, even if she's still reeling from the whiplash of what she thought they were to...this.

"Okay," Chloe says. "When you married Candy, how did you propose?"

"Wearing a Snuggie," he says casually.

"What?"

"Eating ice cream and drinking champagne, too."

Chloe feels, absurdly, a stab of jealousy. For Lucifer's ex-wife. Who was a rebound from her. She thought--well, a lot of things, but mainly she thought they were close. That she'd seen something that he hadn't shown to other people. But she can't even imagine him lounging around wearing a Snuggie and eating ice cream, let alone feeling comfortable enough to propose to someone while doing so.

"But if we're trying to be public, that won't work. For obvious reasons," Lucifer says, clearly hoping she'll continue after her stony silence.

"Yeah," Chloe says, gritting her teeth. "So what, you're going to propose in Lux?"

"No," Lucifer says. "If I were to propose to you, I wouldn't do it here. I'd do it somewhere important to you."

She blinks. God, there's just so much going on today. "So my apartment or something? That's where Pierce proposed to me."

Lucifer's face darkens. "I'm not going to repeat what some common criminal did. I have _some_ class. What about the precinct?"

"You're going to propose to me at work?"

She wonders how she got here. Sitting on an Italian leather couch next to a club owner, who's also her partner, who also claims he's the Devil. Oh, and they're getting married. To stop her ex-fiance. Who is a criminal.

She doesn't miss being an actress, but damn, at least it wasn't this complicated.

1"It matters to you," Lucifer says with an overly casual shrug. "It's public, and it's not where Pierce proposed to you." He manages to say the lieutenant's name with such disdain it barely even sounds like a name anymore, just an insult. It's almost impressive.

"You've put some thought into this," Chloe says.

If she didn't know Lucifer so well, she wouldn't have noticed him tense up. "I put thought into everything I do with you, Detective."

It's a cop-out, but it's interesting. He doesn't lie to her, so he's telling the truth. But why her, specifically?

She's not going to be happy with any answers she can come up with right now. "Okay. The precinct then. We're going to have to sell this, Lucifer." 

"Of course," Lucifer says.

"No, but really," Chloe says. "Like you said, this could go on for weeks. We're going to have to be the picture of wedded bliss. No more one-night stands or flirting with suspects."

Lucifer shrugs. "Simple enough."

"You could also stop being inappropriate at crime scenes," she says hopefully.

Lucifer scoffs. "Even the unis would know something was up immediately if I did that. We're still _us,_ Detective."

Chloe swallows. "And what does that mean?"

"What?"

"We're still us," Chloe says. "So what are we?"

Lucifer doesn't say anything. She worries she's pushed too far or maybe not far enough, but holds back the urge to backtrack and just waits.

"We're engaged now, I suppose," Lucifer says.

She lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Once I make sure Trixie's okay with that, at least."

"The little urchin loves me," Lucifer says. She'd be annoyed if he wasn't so obviously posturing.

"Speaking of Trixie," Chloe says with a little laugh. "If we do this, she's technically your step-daughter. God, she was almost technically Pierce's step-daughter." Lucifer doesn't respond. She looks over at him and sees his face is a little pink. "You okay?"

"I'm just not the father type," he says, a little choked. "But I'm sure I'd be a better fa-dad than Pierce."

"I'm sure you'd be a good dad," Chloe says, half because she means it, half because she wants to gauge his reaction.

His face only gets pinker. "Well. Thank you, Detective." 

She smiles at him. He smiles back at her. It lasts longer than it would with anyone else, but that's nothing new. Even with all this going on, Chloe can just _be_ with Lucifer. She trusts him. He trusts her, in his own way.

"You said you'd tell Dan and Trixie everything, right?" Lucifer says, finally breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, I couldn't do that to them," Chloe says. "Why, are you worried Trixie will say something?"

"I'm not worried about your offspring, Detective," he says. "Daniel, on the other hand..."

Chloe groans. "Lucifer, I know you don't like him, but he'll have our back on this. Especially since it's for Charlotte."

He doesn't say anything for a second, staring into his glass. She doesn't like seeing him this messed up, remembering him showing up drunk to crime scenes, hair a complete mess, eyes bloodshot. "I suppose so."

"...right," Chloe says, after waiting for another snide comment or suggestive remark or something. "Are you okay with this?"

"With telling the truth? Obviously," Lucifer says.

"No, with being a step-dad, even if it's just technically." She knows enough about Lucifer's family--even if it's only through Biblical references and conversations with Amenadiel--to know that this will probably be a sore point. 

Lucifer doesn't say anything for a second. "I know I'll be a better father than mine was," he says after a beat. "Not that I could do much worse. I promise I'll do right by your daughter, Detective."

Chloe doesn't remember the last time Lucifer called Trixie her daughter, not her offspring or her spawn. It doesn't matter, really, but it brings a smile to her face anyway. "Good. I mean, I knew you would, but it's good to hear it."

"I'm a devil of my word," Lucifer says. She snorts, and she can tell he's pleased even as he makes a mock-offended noise. "How much time will I have to spend with the little urchin?"

It's a return to safer waters, and Chloe tries not to feel like being torn out of their conversation from earlier again. "Where are we going to be living? I don't expect you to leave the penthouse but I don't want Trixie living above a nightclub, either. Especially since your elevator doesn't have a lock."

"It could," Lucifer says reluctantly, glancing around his home with calculating eyes. "I could move into your apartment. It wouldn't be...my first plan."

"I'm sure Maze would love to spend more time with you," Chloe says, tongue pressed against her teeth as she tries to hide her smile.

Lucifer flinches. "Not quite, Detective."

"What happened there?" she asks, not sure if she wants the answer.

"I didn't take her home," he says simply.

"So she said," Chloe says thoughtfully. "She can't take a bus or something?"

"No bus to hell, though LA's public transport would be a good candidate."

"Have you ever even ridden a bus?"

"Of course I haven't. Who do you take me for?"

She laughs. "Not even a party bus?"

"I haven't had the pleasure."

"You should've come to my bachelorette party," Chloe says, allowing herself to imagine what a mess that would've been. Lucifer at the first part of the party, if party's even the right word. He would've helped Charlotte call the party bus, probably paid for the whole thing himself, too, as if Charlotte didn't have more savings than the rest of the precinct combined. She stops before she starts thinking of him on the party bus, because she'd have jumped right from having-doubts-about-getting-married to drunkenly-propositioning-her-partner. Again.

This whole plan isn't going to go well.

"I didn't think men were welcome," he says. A slow smile spreads across his face. "Unless you mean as--"

"No," Chloe says.

"But--"

"No."

"Spoilsport," Lucifer says. "You had a party bus?"

"Yes," Chloe says. "It went terribly."

"It led to you breaking up with Pierce, no? Could've been worse."

She shrugs. She's still trying to figure out how to keep all of this together in her head.

"Lucifer?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell me Pierce was the Sinnerman?"

Chloe should probably have said "us" and not "me". He should've told Dan and Ella and everyone else, too. But it feels, irrationally, like a personal betrayal. Like he did something to hurt her specifically.

"I told you not to trust him, Detective," he says. "I don't lie to you."

"But you don't tell me the whole truth, either," she says, irritated. "I know that you were trying to tell me something was wrong, but you didn't tell me he was the Sinnerman. Why not?"

He sighs. "I wanted to stop him, but I didn't want to make you unhappy. You seemed to care about him."

"I care about you too," Chloe says before she can stop herself.

"I know, Detective."

She breathes in for four seconds, but doesn't do the whole process. She's fine, she doesn't need it. "So...are either of us moving?"

"It's going to suspicious if neither of us do," Lucifer says. "Could Dan take Trixie in?"

Chloe blinks. "That's a good idea, actually. I could move in here. But I'd want her to be here at least one or two nights a week."

Lucifer sighs, mock-resigned. "I could close Lux a couple nights. Just let me know which ones work for you."

"Wouldn't that hurt your business?"

This entire experience has been _surreal._ He's being so sweet. Lucifer's always been nice to her, and good to her, but he's not always _sweet_. He's protective and polite and occasionally possessive (anything Pierce can do he can do better, as if that's at _all_ what she'd been looking to hear from him). But this--genuinely kind gestures, in the midst of this absurd situation--is new.

She likes it, but it's a little too much to process.

He's saying something about not needing the money, and she realizes with a little start that she hasn't been paying attention.

"--don't you agree, Detective?"

"What? Yeah," Chloe agrees.

Lucifer grins.

"What did you say?" she asks.

"Something you probably wouldn't agree with," he says, grin sharp but not really upset. "Where were you?"

"I'm here now," she says, taking a page out of his book with a non-answer.

"Alright," he says, grin fading a bit. "I can pay the rent on your apartment while you're staying here."

"What? No. That's ridiculous. I can keep paying it. It's not like I'll be making less money."

"But you won't be living there, it'd be absurd for you to pay the rent."

"And it isn't ridiculous for you to?"

"I'm richer than God," he says with confidence. "And I would know."

"God's a capitalist?"

"He would be," he says with disdain.

They bicker over her apartment's rent for a bit, then move to details--deciding on the penthouse, Lucifer offering to buy ceiling-high dividers so Trixie can have her own space while she's here, something that'll work but won't take an entire construction crew.

The conversation slows, and Chloe realizes--a little shocked--that they have a plan now. They can do this. She says as much to Lucifer, and he smiles at her. 

"Did you expect anything less?" he says.

"I didn't really expect to find out Pierce was probably a serial killer when I woke up this morning," she says, deadpan. 

"Yesterday morning," he says, gesturing at the clock. Christ, it's later than she thought it was. Hours passed by like minutes

"I need to get back to Trixie," she says. "Also, needlessly pedantic."

"You're calling _me_ a pedant?"

"If the shoe fits."

"There's one more thing we need to figure out before you go home, Detective," Lucifer says, though he's clearly pretty tired, too, holding back a yawn. It's odd, to see him this...well, not domestic. But she can't think of another word. At ease, maybe?

"What's that?" she asks.

"Where we'll put your bed," he says, looking around his penthouse and frowning. "There won't be much space for me to do anything. I'll have to find a place to put all my books, don't want the urchin getting ahold of them."

"We can't do that," she says with a frown.

"What, put my things in storage? There's not going to be anything about our plan in there."

"No, buy a bed for me _and_ Trixie. It'll already be suspicious enough that you're not building Trixie a whole new room."

"What are you suggesting, then?"

He's not dumb, but she doesn't think he's being willfully obtuse. "That we just share your bed?"

Lucifer doesn't say anything at first, then turns to her with a look she recognizes from the beginning of their partnership. It's charming, intentionally suggestive, and far less open than she would've wanted to see.

"Interested in my bed, are you?"

Chloe rolls her eyes. "You know that's not what I meant."

"Still," Lucifer says, grin only growing sharper. "All you have to do is ask."

"What I'm _asking_ of you," she says, patience snapping completely, "is to stay professional about this. There's the head of a criminal empire running our entire _precinct._ Our friend's been shot. Can you take this seriously?"

Lucifer, looking like he's been slapped, nods.

"Awesome," Chloe says. "Don't use this as an opportunity to-to, hit on me, or use this as an 'I told you so' or anything else. I don't-I can't handle anything else right now."

Lucifer's expression goes from dumbstruck to sympathetic, and she can't deal with it.

"We're sharing the bed. _Platonically_. Because it makes sense for the case, and Pierce knows where my _daughter_ is. I don't want him to find out we're investigating him, and I sure as hell--" (she doesn't notice his slight smirk, which is good for both of them) "--won't drop it now that I know one of my closest friends might die because of him."

Chloe's breathing heavier than she wants to be. 

"Get it all out?" Lucifer asks.

"Don't push your luck."

"Fair enough," Lucifer says. He gets off the couch and stretches, and Chloe does not look at the little strip of skin from his shirt riding up. Her throat definitely doesn't go dry. "I'll see you tomorrow, Detective."

"Yeah," Chloe says, not looking at him. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

Dan thinks it's the dumbest idea he's ever heard.

"Chloe," Dan says, his voice the same annoyingly patient tone she remembers from Palmetto, "This is insane."

"Yeah."

"No, I mean this is literally insane."

"We don't have any other choice," Chloe says, trying to be reasonable.

"Of course we do, I go into his office and I _shoot_ him."

"And then you go to prison for the rest of your life!"

"So?" Dan says, jaw clenched.

"You'd leave Trixie behind like that?" Chloe says, not sure if she feels sympathetic or _pissed_.

"...no. But I bet Maze would get away with it."

"Stop advocating for murder!" 

It's an odd conversation to be having in the precinct at all, but she knows for a fact the cameras in the elevators broke years ago and no one's cared enough to put the funds in to fix it. She drinks some coffee--more bitter than sweet, part of Maze's probably long, long apology. Chloe's just glad she bought it instead of trying to make it.

"Fine," Dan says, uncharacteristically easily, and she starts to worry.

Still. Gotta pick her battles. 

He pushes his way out of the elevator as soon as the doors open, and Chloe follows after him.

"This is a _stupid_ plan," he says again.

"We don't really have any other choice," she says. "So will you take care of Trixie?"

Dan runs a hand over his face, sighing. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. Probably be good for me, right?"

"Dan--"

He walks away, towards the kitchen, and Chloe's fairly sure he doesn't have anything he needs in there so much as he wants the conversation to be over. She sighs, heading over to her desk to do paperwork or something else mindless.

Naturally, Ella's standing by her desk with one of the least Ella-like expressions she's ever seen.

"You okay, Ella?" she asks.

"No," Ella says. "I couldn't find _anything_ at the scene other than this."

She lifts up a long gray feather. For some reason, Chloe wants to take it, hold it, look at it for an hour or three. Something about it is familiar--or at least, should be. 

"What is it?"

"A bird feather," her friend says, dropping it on her desk in disgust. "But the department won't let me send it away for DNA analysis, and believe it or not, there's a _million_ gray birds, and I can't think of any with feathers this big. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was an angel feather."

"I mean, hey, who knows, right?" Chloe says, trying to cheer her up.

"It isn't," Ella says, shaking her head. "I just--I tried so hard to have faith."

The past tense makes Chloe's heart drop. 

"And what? Charlotte was shot? Someone who just kept trying to do _good,_ someone who wanted to be kind and usually succeeded and apologized when she didn't? If there was a God, this wouldn't happen! It's all bullshit!"

Ella's voice is rising until half the precinct is looking over. But everybody knows Ella, and everybody loves Ella, and everybody knows she's going through something. They all turn away, give her what privacy they can. 

"I'm sorry, Ella," Chloe says, knowing it sounds rote, hoping Ella can hear the sincerity behind it.

Ella's Ella, though, so naturally she does. The harsh look on her face melts away, and Ella reaches out and hugs her. Chloe doesn't want to get emotional in the precinct, especially given everything, but Ella's hugs are amazing, and she tears up a bit against her shoulder.

Her friend is kind enough not to mention it, though, and Chloe wipes her eyes and pulls away. "Thanks, Ella."

"Here for you, man. We're Tribe, right?"

Chloe snorts, and it's a needed bit of levity in the middle of all of this. "Hell yeah."

"Anyway, I'm going to try and find out what this feather is. We'll find who shot her."

"How do you know it's even relevant?"

"I have fa--" Ella stops, suddenly.

"Ella--"

She leaves to the forensics room, wiping her eyes and ignoring Lucifer walking in, holding a coffee cup and staring after her with a confused expression.

"Is Miss Lopez alright?" he asks, walking over to her and setting the cup down on her desk.

"For me?" Chloe says, reaching out.

He scoffs and takes it again. "Maze told me she made you coffee this morning, this is mine. I was up late too, you know."

"You two were up late last night?"

Pierce is suddenly too close. Even Lucifer starts a bit in surprise, and Chloe realizes that for all she and Lucifer talked about last night, how to _start_ this fake relationship was not among them. He's clearly thinking along the same lines, meeting her eyes and lifting an eyebrow.

A silent question. _You sure you're okay with this?_

She wants to nod, but Pierce is right there. So instead she smiles at him, something she almost _never_ does this early in the morning, and doesn't say anything to Pierce.

It's an implication, subtle enough that it's not obvious she's trying to sell something, obvious enough that Pierce won't miss it, especially if he's suspicious of what's going on.

He clears his throat. "Right. I'll talk to you later, Detective."

After waiting for him to walk away, Lucifer puts a hand on her desk and leans closer. "Just to be clear--that was a yes, right, Detective?"

"You know," Chloe says, pissed enough at Pierce to be just a little reckless, "If we're doing this, you could call me Chloe."

"Chloe," Lucifer says, and the moment goes from casual to close in seconds. "We're doing this, then?"

They keep dancing around what it is they're doing. Maybe it's because they're in the precinct, and being overheard would be _really_ bad. But Chloe doesn't think Lucifer's one for caution, and she's curious as to why he can't say marriage.

"I still haven't talked to Trixie," she says. "But...if she's okay with it, I'm all in."

Dan walks by and slams a file on her desk. "For the record, this is the worst plan you've ever had."

"Probably," Chloe says just as Lucifer says, "Certainly not."

"What have you done that's dumber than this?" Chloe asks, curious.

"I did rebel against Heaven."

Chloe and Dan both groan, and it's nice to know that even if he doesn't think she knows what she's doing, Dan'll have her back. It's reading into it, sure, but that's how they worked. As coworkers, as a couple, as friends, now. 

"Any dumb decisions that _weren't_ in the Bible?" Dan asks.

Lucifer thinks for a second, brow furrowed. "The suit I wore when I first came to LA."

Curiosity piqued, Chloe and Dan make eye contact and grin. "Do you still have it?"

"Absolutely not," Lucifer says. "And there's no pictures, either."

"There goes my weekend plans," Dan says.

"Weekend plans?" Ella says, coming over. Her eyes are a little red, but none of them comment on it.

"Coffee?" Lucifer says, which is probably as comforting as he's going to get.

"How much sugar's in it?" Ella asks suspiciously.

"None."

"Perfect," Ella says, grabbing the cup out of his hands and taking a huge swig. "I needed this. Thanks, Luce."

He doesn't call her on the nickname. This Lucifer is one she's comfortable with, who doesn't make a show of kindness or--sweetness. But she can still think about him offering to put his entire life on hold to help her catch Pierce, and...just thinks about that, for a bit.

"Any clues in the case?" Lucifer asks.

"Nothing useful," Ella groans. "I'm going to go back, though. Any suspects?"

Dan and Chloe glance at each other. "Actually, Ella, I wanted to talk to you about that. Wanna head to the lab?"

Ella's brow furrows, but she's smart and picks up on the rest of the group. "Sure."

Lucifer and Chloe watch the pair walk away. "Do you think she'll believe him?"

"She really cares about Charlotte," Chloe says. "I think she will. She'll at least hear him out, and we'll hopefully find at least _some_ proof before too long."

"We can only hope," Lucifer says.

Chloe glares at him.

"Or do painstaking work in addition to our usual cases to find proof," Lucifer self-corrects.

Chloe smiles at him, but she doesn't really feel reassured. 

"We _can_ do this, Detective."

She takes a deep breath. "Yeah. We can."


	3. at least he's cute

The next few days at work pass by in a blur. It's a case with a lot of steps to follow but not a lot of thought behind it, clues practically breadcrumbs in a trail leading to their killer. Lucifer doesn't even need to hypnotize him to get a confession. Chloe just has to say something slightly sympathetic (it must be hard, being rejected) and he's tripping over himself, eager to justify something.

Lucifer spends most of his time during this just--looking at her. It's part of the plan, sure, and they _know_ Pierce is on the other side just looking, but it's not entirely comfortable. He used to do this, back at the beginning of their partnership, and she did the same--sizing each other up, seeing what they could do, what they couldn't.

Maybe it's not that this is uncomfortable, but the context of the entire day.

With the confession all squared away, Chloe returns to her desk, Lucifer trailing after her. There's none of his usual commentary, and a few of her coworkers glance at him suspiciously. A quiet Lucifer is usually a high Lucifer, or worse, an upset Lucifer who can and will take out his frustrations on anyone in the precinct, sometimes suspects, usually Dan.

Chloe feels like she's hyper-aware of everything he's doing. More than usual, anyway. He keeps touching his suit pocket, and just keeping his hand there. She doesn't have the faintest idea why she's anxious--this is for a case, she's done dumber things for cases, _Lucinda_ was a dumber thing she did for a case--but she is. Anxious, that is. 

She gets to work on logging the confession. Lucifer bugs her, as he normally does, though he's still quieter than usual, distracted.

When the usual buzz of police work around them gets quiet, Chloe comments, "You're not a bad actor."

Lucifer makes a noise that might be agreement.

The silence feels a little more comfortable now, and she almost forgets what's happening today. Unfortunately, Dan reminds her by walking up to her desk and, ignoring Lucifer entirely, says, "Last chance, Chloe."

Chloe sighs and looks up at him. "Last chance to what?"

Dan's face twitches. He can't respond without giving _everything_ away, and there are enough people around them now that he can't answer quietly, either. Instead of answering her, he just glares at Lucifer, who smiles blandly at him. 

"See you," he ends up saying, going back to his desk--which he's requested to be off in the corner of the stairs, naturally. She can't bring herself to be too annoyed--Lucifer _didn't_ tell them Pierce was the Sinnerman, and Charlotte _still_ hasn't woken up. Chloe's mad too. But this is childish. 

"He's jealous," Lucifer says, clearly a little delighted.

Chloe wishes they didn't have this whole scheme going. She could yell at him or at least banter with him about all this, rather than what she ends up doing, which is smiling at him, a little softer than she smiles at anyone.

He swallows and looks away. He's been doing that a lot lately, too.

They go grab lunch at some hole-in-the-wall Chloe loves and Lucifer loudly, repeatedly voices his distrust of. That doesn't stop him from stealing fries off her plate, or her from trying his burger.

"You call this spicy?" she says, laughing. "I know British food is bland, but _wow_."

He makes a face at her, stealing more of her fries. "Just because you like your food burning the roof of your mouth doesn't mean everyone does, Detective."

They never used to grab lunch away from the precinct, but now Chloe looks forward to it more than any other part of her day. It's a break from posturing, even if they're starting to feel more and more like dates. Chloe taking Lucifer out to all of these places he's never heard of, because for all his experience as a nightclub owner, he doesn't know all her favorite places here in LA, too far from Lux or the precinct or anywhere he actually goes. It's weirdly intimate. 

He ruins the moment by pulling his flask out in the middle of the place, ignoring the prominent _NO DRINKING_ sign. They get kicked out, the owner smiling sympathetically at Chloe and muttering, "At least he's cute, right?"

Unwilling to respond, she forces a smile.

* * *

The precinct's calmed down a bit, now. There's still a few officers and detectives walking around, but the mood's more lethargic, lazy. Lucifer's gone completely quiet, which a few people--including Pierce--are clearly suspicious of. 

"Chloe," Lucifer says, and she has to keep herself from tensing. 

"Lucifer?" she asks, making herself look over at him. He doesn't look quite as open and honest as he did when they were on the verge of a _real_ conversation about all of this, but it's close enough to hurt.

"I--" he pauses, and it's so unlike how he'd actually act. She thinks. She's been thinking about that a lot, recently. "I know I've been distant lately. Jealous."

"Lucifer," she says, which they didn't plan, but she would, she needs to. "It's okay."

"No," he says. "It's not. I've been trying to prove that I'm better than Pierce, that he doesn't deserve you, because--" He takes a deep breath, and she can't meet his eyes, but she also can't look away.

"Because what?" she says, quieter than she meant it to come out.

The few officers still in the precinct keep looking over at them, curious. She can feel more than see Pierce looking at them from his office. God, she's getting paranoid.

"Because I love you," Lucifer says, and the lack of confidence in his voice is getting to her. She doesn't know if it's that he's a good actor or if--she's gonna drive herself crazy, thinking like this.

"Oh," Chloe says, and she's pretty sure she was supposed to say something different.

He smiles at her, and it's real, reassuring. "I know you've only just broken up with Pierce. And I know you've got a lot going on right now. But--"

Lucifer gets down on one knee, and Chloe keeps thinking about how he's going to need to get his suit dry-cleaned. The precinct floor is _gross_.

She smiles at him, finds herself nodding yes before he even finishes taking out the ring. He smiles at her, wide and genuine, and fuck, this was a bad idea.

He gets off the floor, going to put the ring on her finger. It's genuinely beautiful, and she wants to take it off and just study it for awhile. She doesn't know what the stone is, and the ring itself looks like it's made of several different metals. She'll have to ask him where he got it, later. 

The few officers in the precinct awkwardly clap. Ella claps, too, but enthusiastically, whooping. When she works up the nerve to look up at Pierce's office, he's staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face. The hair on the back of her neck stands up.

Chloe looks at Lucifer, and his face is close to her own. She'd kiss him, if this was real. As it is, she hugs him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugs her back. It's sweet and that makes it sting--it isn't real. None of it. She keeps having to remind herself.

"Woo!" Ella says, running up to them as soon as they pull apart from each other. "Damn, Chloe, I thought it would take the two of you _months_ to get here!"

Lucifer wraps an arm around Chloe's shoulders, and yeah, it's more performance, but she can't deny it helps ground her. "You've no faith in us, Miss Lopez?"

At the word faith, Ella makes a bit of a face, but powers through. "I mean, to be fair, my girl was just _engaged_ to Pierce. And I got way caught up on that, B.T.dubs. But you guys are cuter."

"We are, aren't we?" Chloe says, looking up at Lucifer with a smile that's far too easy to force. 

"Chloe," Pierce says, and Ella jumps.

"Dude, you need a bell," she says, irritated but not giving anything away. Chloe privately agrees.

"Could I talk to you for a second?" he says, and she used to be able to read him. Even now, all she can see is a flash of jealousy. 

"Sure," she says, gently shrugging Lucifer's arm off.

She follows Pierce up to his office, absent-mindedly touching the ring--her ring. "What's up?"

"Congratulations are in order," he says awkwardly.

"Right," she says, and she doesn't have to fake her discomfort in this conversation. "Look, Marcus--"

"It's okay," he says. "I just want you to be happy."

There's a beat of silence, far less comfortable than these moments are with Lucifer.

"Will he? Make you happy?"

Chloe takes a deep breath. "Yeah. I think so."

He waits, raising his brows as if prompting her to say more.

"I can be honest with Lucifer," she says hesitantly. "And even if it's wrapped up in metaphors, he can be honest with me. He makes Trixie laugh and I know he'd do anything to protect her. We argue sometimes but I know he has my best interests at heart. He pushes me to be better, and I know I do the same for him."

Pierce swallows, throat working, but doesn't cut her off.

"I think I've loved him for a long time," she says. "And I'm sorry if that hurts. But I don't wanna lie to myself anymore. He makes me happy."

"Well," Pierce says. "That's good, then."

The worst part of this, Chloe thinks as she exits the office, is that she wasn't lying at all. If anything, she has more to say. She doesn't, though, making her way back to her desk.

It's a little overwhelming, now, all her coworkers offering congratulations and making comments about how long _this_ took. As if they have the slightest clue what _this_ is. Chloe doesn't have a clue what they are, how could anyone else?

Lucifer smiles at her when she gets back, looking slightly panicked. Ella's standing next to him, talking without a break to breathe about the wedding.

"Do you guys have a theme in mind? Or at least the colors? You shouldn't do pink, that's what she was gonna do with Pierce--"

"Chloe!" Lucifer says. "We need to go soon, right?"

"Sure," Chloe says. Ella smiles at both of them, hands clasped inn a clear picture of excitement. "See you tomorrow, Ella."

"Take the day off," her friend says, grinning at both of them. Chloe can feel her cheeks heat up. "Enjoy engaged life. You know, li--"

"Okay, bye, Ella," Chloe says, grabbing Lucifer's hand and dragging him to the elevator. 

"Miss Lopez is really--invested, isn't she?" he says as soon as the doors close. His face is a bit pink, too. He doesn't let go of her hand.

"She was like that with Pierce, too," Chloe says. "I think she just loves love."

"There are worse things to be obsessed with," Lucifer says. She vaguely mutters agreement, dragging him towards the car once the elevator doors open.

"You're in quite a rush to get out of here," Lucifer notes.

"Do you want Ella to keep talking about the color wheel? Because I can call her out, I'm sure she'd be happy to."

"Point taken, Detective," Lucifer says. He only lets go of her hand to get into the car, and she tries not to miss it as she slides into the driver's seat.

"Okay," Chloe says.

"Do you think Pierce bought it?" he asks as they pull into the street. Chloe keeps her eyes fixed onto the road rather than glance at him.

"Yeah," she says. "I think so."

"I see your acting abilities haven't faded since _Hot Tub High School_ ," Lucifer says. 

Chloe groans in response.

The rest of the drive to Lux is quiet. She wonders if he's feeling as awkward as she is. She doubts it, but she's been wrong about Lucifer before.

When she finally makes her way up to the penthouse, she doesn't even bother to say anything, just flops down on his couch. It's not the best kind of couch for that, but it works.

"Are you okay, Detective?" Lucifer asks, pouring himself a glass of something that probably costs more than Chloe pays in rent every month.

"I still need to talk to Trixie," she says. "She's been at Dan's the past few days, didn't wanna take her away from him what with Charlotte--" Her throat starts to feel a bit tight, and she stops there.

"Understandable," Lucifer says. "And if she says no, we can call the whole thing off--make it seem like one of us came to our senses."

That stings. She doesn't pry, though, instead sitting up and saying, "Step 1 done, I guess."

"One thing, though--are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asks, irritated. 

"You seemed--tense, earlier. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Chloe doesn't respond for a second. "I'm okay. Just still getting used to all of this, I guess."

Lucifer doesn't respond, but sits next to her a few moments later. "Then onto the wedding. Miss Lopez started to worry me--how much planning really needs to get done?"

"A lot," she says with a grimace. "What did you do for your wedding with Candy?"

"We were in Vegas."

"Fair enough." She takes a second to psych herself up. "There's one more thing we need to talk about before we even get to, uh. Wedding planning."

"What's that?" he asks, taking a sip of his drink.

"PDA?" she says, and it comes out as a question even though she doesn't intend for it to.

He chokes a little. Alarmed, she turns to make sure he isn't actually choking, but he just looks surprised. "Can't we just say you're against PDA in general?"

She sighs. "Yeah, which I am, usually, but we need to at least talk about it. If we're having an actual wedding, there's the 'kiss the bride', and Pierce will get suspicious if we don't act like a couple at all."

"Alright. Let's talk about it, then," Lucifer says, putting his drink down on his coffee table. Without a coaster, naturally. It looks like a nice table, too.

"What are you okay with?" she tries when he doesn't offer anything else. "We have to sell this but I don't want to--I don't know, pressure you."

"What are you fine with, Detective?" he says, another non-answer. "I'm more worried about crossing your boundaries than my own."

"First of all, you should probably talk to Linda about that," Chloe says. "Second, I--don't really know? We already hold hands a lot, and it's not like much else would be okay at work anyway."

"We could hold hands even when we're not running somewhere," Lucifer suggests. For once, he looks as awkward as she feels having this conversation. It reassures her that this isn't only weird for her.

It's not weird that she'll end up holding hands with Lucifer. It's weird that they have to talk about it like this, almost clinically. This was easy, once. Even half-dying, Lucifer called her heaven-sent. And that was after trying to follow bad advice in an even worse way for a few hours, too.

Then, of course, he panicked and got married to _Candy_ , who really was very nice even if Chloe can't bring herself to feel that much positive stuff about her. She does feel bad about that. A little.

"Okay," Chloe says. "Holding hands. That's a good start."

"It's not as though we'll be hanging out with Pierce outside of work," Lucifer says. "What else do we need?"

"I don't know," Chloe admits. "This fake marriage thing was your idea."

Lucifer smiles, and it breaks a tension she hadn't even realized was there. "Have you ever known me to think that far ahead, Detective?"

She laughs. "I guess not. We still do need to talk about this, though."

"What else do we need to do?"

"It'd be a pretty shitty wedding if the bride and groom don't even kiss," Chloe jokes. After a beat of silence, she adds, "If you're okay with that."

"I am," Lucifer says. "It wouldn't be our first kiss."

It's an odd reminder. Their real history in the midst of all this--well, bullshit. "True."

"Are you...alright with that, Chloe?"

Every time he says her name it's a surprise. She's so used to hearing Detective that it's unbearably intimate. "Yeah. Of course I'm alright with that."

"Of course? Interesting," Lucifer says, but leaves his innuendo at a suggestive smile.

"We'll have to be comfortable with each other before the wedding, though," Chloe says. She reaches out her hand and he takes it.

It isn't awkward. It's weird that it isn't awkward, maybe, but it isn't. His hand isn't clammy and she isn't worried about sweaty palms or anything else. They sit like that for awhile, just getting used to each other. She absent-mindedly rubs a thumb along his hand.

"Is there anything else we need to do?" Lucifer asks. "Not that I'm complaining. This is...nice."

Chloe tugs a bit on his hand. He turns to look at her. "I can think of one thing," she says, and she's looking at his eyes for one of the first times today. It isn't as difficult as she thought it was going to be.

"What is that?" he asks quietly. The moment feels like a _real_ moment, like that time on his balcony, like that time on the balcony of that victim's house. (They have a thing for balconies, apparently.)

It takes her a second to work up the courage. "Kiss me?"

She swears she can see his eyes darken a bit. Lucifer doesn't say anything, just leans forward. She leans forward, too, and presses their lips together. It's not their first kiss, but it doesn't quite feel like a second kiss, either--it still feels like something new, something daring.

The kiss stays chaste, but when it ends neither of them pull back. His breath is warm on her face, and even after a whole day of copwork and cheap food, it still smells like mint. "Will that do, Detective?"

She frowns slightly at the title instead of her name. "Yeah." He pulls back, and she does too, finally letting go of his hand. The intimacy of the moment's broken, and it feels awkward again. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, Detective," Lucifer says.

"See you," Chloe says, getting up and heading towards the elevator without so much as a backward glance.

* * *

Chloe gets home and throws her bag onto the counter.

"Hey, Chloe," Maze says, sitting on her counter and holding a couple of knives. This is a less alarming sight than it would have been before she knew Maze better. "Bad day?"

"I don't...know," Chloe says. "Maybe? Probably. No?"

Maze raises one eyebrow. "Right. Is this a 'get drunk' kind of day or not?"

"Not yet. But talk to me this weekend."

"It's Tuesday? I think. My last bounty kept a weird schedule."

"Yeah, it's Tuesday."

Maze whistles. "Trixie's asleep, if you wanna talk about it."

"Aren't you still mad at me?" Chloe asks. "I'm happy you're not, just--confused, I guess."

Maze snorts. "No, I'm a demon. It's been like, a week. I'm over it by now. Onto the Pierce revenge plot."

Chloe winces. "Right. That."

"Is _that_ what's got you upset?" Maze asks, baffled and a little angry. "He kidnapped me! He tried to kill Amenadiel!"

"And he shot Charlotte."

"Right, that."

"I'm not upset that we're trying to take him down, Maze," Chloe says. "It's just--the whole thing. It's a little crazy to deal with."

"What's the issue?" Maze asks, sliding off the counter and putting her knives away in sheaths that shouldn't fit in the outfit she's wearing. "He figure you guys out?"

"No," Chloe says. "It's just--the whole thing."

"I don't get it," Maze says, grabbing some coconut water from the fridge. "If he doesn't know you're investigating him, why are you upset?"

"...Maze, what did Lucifer tell you about the plan?"

"You're gonna catch Pierce rather than let me and Dan kill him," Maze says, bored. She suddenly grins, wide and scary (if she didn't know her, anyway). "Have you changed your mind?"

"The plan's going fine," Chloe says. "Nothing to worry about."

"What did you do?" Maze asks, walking closer in a manner not unlike that of a predatory cat.

"Nothing," Chloe says, resisting the urge to back up. "I'm probably gonna go to bed now, though?"

"What did _Lucifer_ do, then?"

"Y'know, just Lucifer being Lucifer," she says. "You know how he is."

"More than you know," Maze says. Her smile hasn't faded, and Chloe finally gives into the urge to step back. "What's going on, Chloe?"

"...the plan is dumber than you think it is."

With that, Maze stops stalking forward, instead grabbing Chloe's hand and dragging her to the couch. "Tell me _everything_. Linda hasn't had any good gossip for me lately."

"So, uh. It made a lot of sense at the time," Chloe says.

"What did you do?" Maze says. "There's no way it's going to be as bad as what I'm thinking of, I can guarantee that."

"What are you thinking of?" She's definitely stalling at this point, but she missed Maze, and doesn't necessarily want to rekindle their friendship by being made fun of for being part of the dumbest plan of all time. Dan was right.

"Hell," Maze says. "Although I guess I loved torturing people there."

"Why do you and Lucifer both do this metaphor?" Chloe asks.

"Not a metaphor. You'll get it one day. Now come on."

"So, Lucifer pointed out that to investigate Pierce we need him to not know we're investigating him, right?"

"Makes sense," Maze says. "He was good enough to get the drop on me, and that's saying something."

"Are you okay, by the way?" 

Maze scoffs. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little internal bleeding, which is where the blood is supposed to be."

"Maze, oh my God, go to the hospital--"

"It's a _joke_ ," she says. "I'm fine, seriously. Thanks for the concern, I guess. Now tell me!"

"We needed him to also leave me alone. He'd figure out something was up if he was still trying to win me back."

"So what? You went up to his face and broke his heart or something?"

"Sort of, actually," Chloe says, frowning. "Lucifer suggested I get married."

"To Pierce? How is that breaking his--" Maze goes silent. Her wide grin from earlier comes back. "Wait a second."

"No," Chloe says. "To Lucifer."

Maze takes a deep breath. "I have--so much to say right now. I have to figure out where to even start. Fuck, dude. I'll do this in the morning."

"What, really? You're going to wait?"

"Delayed gratification," Maze says. "Works for torture too."

"Okay. Wait until I tell Trixie, though?"

"You haven't told Trixie?" Maze's smile drops, becomes more of a snarl. 

"I'm going to before we go forward with this," Chloe promises. "I just didn't want to take her away from Dan. He needed her, and you know she misses him sometimes."

Maze nods. "I'll wait to destroy you." She pauses. "But I am going to destroy you."


	4. step-devil

Chloe wakes up to Mazikeen sitting in her armchair, staring at her with a smile best described as feral. 

"I thought you were waiting for me to tell Trixie," Chloe says, words a little slurred since she did _l_ _iterally_ just wake up.

"She's still sleeping, you still have the chance to tell her," Maze says, grin not dropping in the slightest. "But I couldn't wait any longer. I almost woke you up _just_ to do this."

"...how long have you been sitting there?" Chloe asks.

"Four hours," Maze says.

"God, do you even sleep?" Chloe mumbles, pushing her blankets off her to go make breakfast. Hopefully food will keep Maze from tearing into her.

"Chloe, I was working _with_ Pierce, and this is still _the_ dumbest plan," Maze crows, following Chloe on her way out of the room. "I mean, this could practically be torture. For both of you." Her voice, for a second, slips into something almost nostalgic. "If I ever get to go back home, I'm using this. I don't know _how,_ but I will. How did this even _happen_?"

"Lucifer suggested it," Chloe says, opening the fridge and reaching blindly inside for some sort of breakfast food. Maze jumps up and sits on the counter, leaning back on her hands.

"So you _listened to him?_ " Maze is mocking her, clearly, but her tone isn't judgmental, just delighted.

"We needed to get Pierce off our backs," Chloe mutters, putting some bacon in the pan. The smell of food cooking is starting to wake her up, but not quite.

Maze cackles. Chloe appreciates that she's staying quiet enough not to wake Trixie, if only by a little. "You couldn't have just gone off the grid? Faked your own death? Quit your job?"

"How easy do you think going off the grid is?" 

"It can't be that hard, I've done it like four times," Maze says with a shrug.

"When?"

Maze smiles and doesn't say anything more. She has a gleam in her eye that Chloe recognizes from right before she catches a bounty. 

"Great," Chloe says, taking the bacon out of the pan. Maze, as she does, tries to snatch a piece. Chloe, as she does, smacks her hand away. Maze usually manages to grab it anyway. If it weren't such an invasion of privacy, she'd set up cameras to figure out how she does it.

"So," Maze says, mouth full, "What're you gonna do?"

Chloe sighs, and doesn't respond for a second, cracking a couple eggs. Fried for Trixie, scrambled for Maze, whatever for her. "I don't know, honestly."

She expects another round of vicious mockery and cutting words. Instead, Maze says, "What do you want to do?"

Chloe doesn't look over at her, staring at the eggs as if she couldn't cook them in her sleep. "I want a lot of things."

"Lucifer's non-answers are enough for me, thanks," Maze says, quickly irritated.

"Yeah. Sorry."

Maze is quick to anger and, unless it's serious, quick to get over it. "Whatever."

"I just--I wish Pierce wasn't a serial killer," Chloe says with a laugh.

"Technically he isn't. Serial killers have more..." Maze exhales loudly, and Chloe can picture the look of concentration on her face. "Ritual to it. Pierce is just opportunistic."

"That's maybe worse," Chloe says. 

The silence is a little more comfortable, now. She thinks Maze's onslaught is done, or at least paused.

"Can I be your maid of honor?" Maze says, interrupting her thoughts.

"You want to be my maid of honor?" she asks, disbelieving.

"Yeah," Maze says. Chloe can hear the grin in her voice.

"Why?"

"I want to support you during the happiest day of your life," Maze says, voice saccharine sweet and completely bullshit.

"You want to beat Ella for the position," Chloe guesses.

"Yeah!"

"I thought you two were getting along recently," Chloe says. "Can you get out the plates?"

Maze's heels click against the tile floor as she opens the kitchen cabinets. "Nope."

"Is that a no to the plates or to Ella?"

"Plates." She still does put the plates next to where Chloe's cooking. "Ella and I get along fine. We made a blood pact." Maze hops back up onto the counter.

The sun's up enough now that Chloe knows Trixie will be up soon. She tries not to be apprehensive about talking to her own daughter.

"You okay, Decker?" Maze asks.

"I look bad enough that _you're_ asking me if I'm okay?" Chloe says weakly.

Maze doesn't respond for a second. "Look, I'm not the best at this whole...emotions thing. This place isn't like where I'm from. You're not like the people where I'm from. And this problem...wouldn't happen." There's a bit of laughter in her voice, but she seems to be genuinely trying to repress it, so Chloe doesn't think it's worth tackling right now. "I'm here for you, though?"

It's a question even if it wasn't meant to be. Chloe finally turns to look at Maze. She looks supremely uncomfortable. "Thanks, Maze."

Maze visibly sags with relief. "Okay. Cool."

"I'll probably ask for help with Pierce more than with Lucifer," Chloe says.

Rather than further defusing the situation, Maze's grin lights back up. "Are you sure? Because I know him pretty well."

"So do I," Chloe says cautiously.

"Biblically?" Maze asks, grin widening.

"Nope! No. We're not having this conversation," Chloe says, grabbing her plate and turning to leave. She could push her bookcase in front of her door, maybe. The last time she tried to lock her out Maze just picked the lock. (In her defense, the kitchen was on fire, and Chloe hadn't believed her.)

"I mean, if you're looking for advice," Maze says, rushing in front of her and walking backwards, somehow not tripping over any of Trixie's toys. "I could give you some pointers."

"I don't _need_ pointers, thank you," Chloe says, staring at her door, wondering if she can bull-rush it before Maze can stop her. Then she remembers Maze lifting the oven when Trixie's "mini planet" marbles rolled under it, and gives up that plan.

"You don't wanna make your wedding night _special_?" Maze ends her sentence in a voice just south of valley girl. It doesn't fit at all with her general...everything.

"I'll let you plan my bachelorette party for real this time," Chloe adds, desperately. She wants to be having any other conversation.

"I want to be maid of honor," Maze insists.

"You don't want to be Lucifer's best man?"

"I can do that?" Maze asks. "Okay, convince _him_ of that and I'll stop."

"Done." 

Maze grins and saunters away. Chloe wonders if she's been swindled. She also tries not to feel like she's walking back with her tail between her legs when she walks back to the kitchen to finish getting Trixie's breakfast ready.

"What are you gonna tell her?" Maze asks from the couch.

"The truth," Chloe says. "She's old enough to handle it."

"She's a good enough liar to handle it," Maze says confidently. 

"That isn't really what I want to hear about my daughter," Chloe says.

"It's a good life skill!" Maze protests.

"Like knife skills?"

"I only taught her a few places to stab someone," Maze mutters. 

"One was too many places, Mazikeen."

"I disagree. Hey, is Lucifer moving in _here?_ "

The quick shift in perspective leaves her reeling. "No, I'll stay at the penthouse while we're doing this. I'll still pay the rent here, though, don't worry."

Maze shrugs. "Doesn't matter to me either way."

"How rich are you?" Chloe asks.

"I still have access to Lucifer's bank account," Maze says, which isn't an answer, but says more than enough.

"Great."

"Trixie's getting up now, by the way," she says casually. Chloe still hasn't figured out how Maze knows the second Trixie's up, or the second she is. Maze says her hearing is better than a human's. Chloe suspects hidden baby monitors, and is still trying to figure out a) where and b) why.

"Morning, Maze!" Trixie says, jumping over the couch and giving Maze a hug. Maze hugs her back and ruffles her hair, ignoring Trixie's protest, which is mostly just giggling and smacking Maze's hands away. "Morning, Mommy!"

"Hey, monkey, come get breakfast," Chloe says. She's suddenly nervous again.

Trixie rolls off Maze and the couch and starts walking over. Maze gets up and heads out, giving Chloe a significant look. She appreciates the privacy. 

"Is everything okay?" Trixie asks.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Chloe says, trying not to feel like she's lying again. "I have something I need to talk to you about, though."

Trixie looks at her, a little confused. "Last time you said that you and Daddy got a divorce."

Chloe chokes on her water. "That's...not it, monkey."

"I know!" Trixie says.

"Do you remember Marcus?" Chloe asks.

"Yeah, you guys were gonna get married," Trixie says, mouth full of food. "And now you're not."

"I found out recently he's done some bad things," Chloe says carefully. Trixie doesn't like hearing that people she knows are criminals ever since Malcolm, even if she's handling that relatively well.

"Like what?" Trixie asks.

"You met one of my friends, Charlotte, at the bachelorette party. Do you remember her?"

"Yeah, I remember all of those people," Trixie says. "Is she okay?"

"She's actually in the hospital right now," Chloe says. "And we think it's because of Marcus."

"Are you gonna arrest him?"

"We have to find some proof first. And that's what I wanna talk to you about, monkey."

"Do you need my help?" Trixie asks, suddenly excited.

"Sort of! We need to make sure Marcus doesn't know we're looking for proof," Chloe says. "And I have a plan, but I need to make sure you're okay with it too."

"What's the plan?" Trixie asks.

"Lucifer and I, um." Chloe's imagined this moment practically nonstop since she and Lucifer agreed to this, and she still has no clue how to talk to her about it. "So, Pierce and I were gonna get married--"

"Mom," Trixie says, looking endlessly patient, which is funny for a nine-year-old with a bit of yolk on her cheek. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Chloe smiles. "When did you get so smart, munchkin?"

"I'm _always_ smart," Trixie says.

Chloe laughs and pulls her daughter into a one-armed hug. Trixie hugs her back.

"We want to make sure that Marcus doesn't know we're looking into him," Chloe says. "And one way that we came up with is for...Lucifer and I to pretend that we're together now."

Trixie doesn't say anything for a second. Chloe gets very worried. "Mom?"

"Yeah, monkey?"

"How is that helping you solve crimes?"

"It'll make Marcus leave me alone so I can investigate. Plus it gives me and Lucifer and excuse to spend time together outside of work, but we're really gonna be investigating. We're only gonna do this if you're okay with it, Trix."

"I'm okay with it," Trixie says with a small smile. Chloe feels a weight off her shoulders. "Is Lucifer moving in here?"

"No, monkey. You're gonna stay with your dad for awhile longer. Is that okay?"

"Yeah!" Trixie says, back to excited. "I get so much chocolate cake when I'm at his place!"

Chloe makes a mental note to talk to Dan about bribing their child. "Okay."

"Do I still have to go to school today?" Trixie asks, smiling innocently at her.

"Yup. Finish your breakfast and get ready."

Trixie groans but does go back to finishing her breakfast. Chloe has to get ready too, and heads back to her room.

Maze is sitting on her armchair again. 

"Jesus!" Chloe says, startled. "Maze, _what_?"

"Is Trixie okay with it?"

"What happened to your supernatural hearing?" Chloe teases.

"I listened to heavy metal to give you privacy," Maze says without skipping a beat. "I found an album from someone called _Goatwhore._ I'm going to make Lucifer listen to the whole thing."

"Yeah, I get it, the devil and goats, ha-ha," Chloe says dryly.

"That's actually a myth, Amenadiel started that," Maze says brightly. Chloe can't tell if she's being sarcastic or not. "Is Trixie cool with your dumb plan or not?"

"She's fine with it," Chloe says. "Surprisingly fine with it, actually."

"She likes Lucifer," Maze says. "For some reason."

"I thought you two were getting along fine?"

"He still won't bring me home," Maze snaps. "We'll be okay enough to take down Pierce, at least."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Chloe asks. Maze scoffs and shoulder-checks Chloe on her way out. "Yeah, should've expected that."

* * *

Chloe walks into the precinct to find Lucifer already sitting at her desk. Thankfully, he hasn't tried to re-do her filing system again.

"Detective!" Lucifer says, delighted. 

"Hey, Lucifer," she says, smiling back at him. He gets out of her chair and kisses her on the cheek. She can feel her cheeks warm up, and hopefully it isn't obvious that it's at least as much from embarrassment from feeling genuinely flustered.

"What's the plan today?"

"We found the body of a reporter and her younger sister murdered in her apartment," Chloe says. "I don't know much more than that, Ella just texted me from the scene. Let's go."

"Lead the way."

Chloe grabs his hand and leads him out of the precinct. They pass Pierce on the way, and she smiles briefly at him. He doesn't smile back, actually averting his gaze. It feels a little better than it probably should, and not just because he doesn't seem suspicious.

She doesn't let go of Lucifer's hand until they're at the car.

"Do you think Pierce is buying this?" Lucifer asks.

"Yeah," Chloe says confidently.

"Lovely," Lucifer says. "I've already called in favors from some of my more unsavory contacts to see where to even begin looking into Pierce's organization."

"Did you find anything?"

"There's apparently a weak link in the higher-ups of the chain of command who may turn if they're offered immunity," Lucifer says.

"...which we can't offer without the lieutenant's permission," Chloe sighs.

"Still, it's a promising start."

"True. Thank you, Lucifer."

"You're welcome, Detective," Lucifer says proudly.

The reporter's apartment has all of her old articles framed. She was an investigative journalist and loved to find people in power to take down, so there's more leads than they know what to do with. It's depressingly familiar.

"Thankfully," Ella says, kneeling down beside the sister's body, "the Wrights here seemed to know what they were doing."

"Defensive wounds?" Chloe asks.

"With blood under the fingernails!" Ella says, a little too chipper for a crime scene or the early hour. "If they're in the database, we'll find them. Give you guys more time to yourselves."

"Hopefully," Lucifer says just as Chloe says, "Not appropriate."

Ella beams at them both. "What did Trixie say when you told her?" 

Chloe pretends she doesn't notice Lucifer suddenly studying the one wall with nothing on it to avoid seeming like he's listening. "She's fine with it."

"Good! Lucifer's so lovable, though, I'm not surprised."

"Lovable?" Lucifer asks, offended.

"You're right," Chloe says. "He is."

Lucifer mutters something about hell, but doesn't add anything else.

There's not much for them to do other than wait for Ella to finish her forensic analysis, so they end up staying on the sidelines, watching unis come and go.

"You told Trixie the truth, right?" Lucifer asks.

"Of course I did," Chloe says.

"Good. The little urchin deserves the truth."

"You know, if you're gonna be her step-dad, you might wanna call her _urchin_ less often."

"Step-dad," Lucifer says, as if he's trying to see how the word feels to say. 

"Step-devil!" Ella adds, halfway through taking pictures of the scene. "For the best method actor in the biz." 

"I quite like that, actually," Lucifer says. "Although for the _last_ time, I'm not a method actor."

" _So_ method."

Chloe grins at the face Lucifer makes. "Hey, wanna get out of here?"

"Please," Lucifer says.

Ella awws. 

* * *

They go grab lunch at one of Lucifer's picks this time, a place fancier than any Chloe's gone to since she quit acting. It's nice, she guesses, but she prefers the places where the owners know her name.

Also the places where the entrees cost less than she makes in a day.

"You're paying," she says, looking critically over the menu.

"Of course," Lucifer says, frowning at his menu. "I remember this place having more options."

"The menu is one page," she says. "And it's mostly in French?"

Lucifer chuckles. "You can pick the next place."

"Obviously," Chloe says.

They talk about nothing for awhile, Lucifer speculating that their victim was on the verge of exposing someone powerful enough and cruel enough to commit murder to hide their crimes, Chloe reminding him that they should wait until they have evidence before we come to any conclusions.

"So what does your mother think of our marriage?"

Chloe freezes halfway through bringing some admittedly-very-good duck to her mouth.

"Did you _not tell her_?" Lucifer asks.

"I...I didn't think of it?"

"Were you planning to let her find out about the wedding from Dan?"

"I doubt he'd tell her about our _fake_ wedding," Chloe says. Lucifer shrugs. "He'd probably tell me first, at least."

"You should probably tell her soon," Lucifer suggests.

Chloe groans, and adds a reminder to text her mom when she gets off work.

"By the way, I rearranged a few things in my penthouse," Lucifer says. "There should be enough room for whatever you need while you're living with me."

"Great," Chloe says. "Should we do that tonight?"

"After you catch whoever's behind this," Lucifer suggests. "You wouldn't drag yourself away from work long enough to do something like this."

"You're probably right," Chloe admits. 

"When am I not?" Lucifer says with a smile.

Chloe opens her mouth to answer.

"That was a rhetorical question."

* * *

As it turns out, their murderer was in the system (for public indecency, of all things). The mayor's secretary had been embezzling from city funds for her boyfriend, some sort of mobster. Lucifer's upset he doesn't talk like he's from the Godfather, and Chloe's annoyed that the secretary doesn't seem even slightly remorseful for murdering an innocent reporter and her sister.

"Really?" Chloe asks after finalizing the confession. "The reporter I can at least understand, but why Natalie?"

"She got in the way," the secretary says, popping gum that Chloe's pretty sure she's not allowed to have in the interrogation room.

"That didn't take long at all," Lucifer says brightly. He hands her a coffee which she practically chugs. 

"Hardly a criminal mastermind," Chloe says, involuntarily flicking her eyes up towards Pierce's office. He's meeting with someone she doesn't recognize. 

"It'll be okay, Detective," Lucifer says.

"Am I that easy to read?" she asks.

"I just know you," Lucifer says with a small smile.

She smiles back. "You do."

"You two are so cute," Ella adds, having just walked over.

Chloe starts. She hadn't realized their conversation was part of the fake marriage plot.

"Aren't we?" Lucifer says with a grin.

"Right," Chloe says, already missing the easy conversation with Lucifer she hadn't realized was all bullshit. 

"When's the wedding, by the way? I need to start planning a better bachelorette party."

"We should...probably plan that," Chloe says, glancing at Lucifer.

"What? Oh my God, girl, go ask for a few days off."

"Um," Chloe says.

"Wait. I...wasn't thinking," Ella says sheepishly. "I can go ask for you, if you want."

Chloe's tempted to say yes, so she doesn't have to deal with any of it. But at the same time, she's got to face Pierce eventually, especially since she's actively trying to catch him in a lie or something else that will hold up in court.

She wishes she could talk to Charlotte about any of this. She would know much better what needed to be found than Chloe does.

"No," Chloe says with a sigh. "Lucifer and I will figure out what we're looking for and I'll talk to Pierce first thing tomorrow."

"Awesome, just keep me updated," Ella says. "I'm gonna go home now, gotta get back to my chicken."

"Ella, you _have_ to get rid of that thing."

"She's right, Miss Lopez."

Ella laughs as she leaves and doesn't respond.

"That poor animal," Lucifer says. Chloe agrees.

* * *

Chloe puts down the last of her boxes and sighs. Packing her stuff took a depressingly short amount of time, but moving it took hours, and she knows her arms are going to feel sore when she wakes up in the morning.

Lucifer helped her move and even he, with his supposedly-supernatural strength, looks a little tired. "What'd you pack?"

"Books, mostly. Now that Dan's hanging out with Trixie after work, I can catch up on all the books I've been meaning to read." Lucifer's smiling at her. "What?"

"It's just very you, Detective."

She's not sure if she's being teased or not. She's pretty sure she's not, since she _knows_ she saw a Shakespeare 1st edition on his shelves somewhere, but it's always hard to tell. Especially now. She keeps second-guessing their conversations now, even when they're alone. 

Her thoughts are interrupted by her own yawn. Lucifer laughs, and now he's definitely teasing her.

"Get some sleep, Chloe," and that feels like something genuine, but she can't be sure anymore. Still, she's too tired to argue.

"Yeah," Chloe says. "When are you gonna sleep?"

Lucifer shrugs. "Sometime soon. I need to make sure everything's fine downstairs first."

"Cool," Chloe says, feeling weird and not sure why.

The first thing she notices about Lucifer's bed, which is her bed now, is that it's insanely comfortable. She's passed out in this bed before, back when she was mad about him leaving on her birthday, but actually trying to fall asleep here is different.

The second thing she notices is that his sheets sort of smell like his cologne. That shouldn't be a surprise, but it is, and it's making her think about a lot of things other than getting some rest so she has the energy to investigate a criminal mastermind. Who is her ex-fiance, and also her boss.

She does eventually end up falling asleep, stirring only when Lucifer passes by the bed on his way out of the room.

"Where're you going?" Chloe asks sleepily.

"The couch, Detective. I don't want to disturb your rest."

"That's stupid," she says. "It's your bed. Lie down."

"Are you sure?" he asks. Neither of her eyes are actually fully open, because it's late and she's tired, and she can't imagine what he looks like. He doesn't normally sound this vulnerable. 

"Yeah," she says, scooting over to the blessedly cooler side of the bed. 

Lucifer, after a moment that lasts long enough that Chloe considers dragging him into bed herself, does climb into bed with her. Her sleepy brain briefly considers curling into him, wrapping her arms around him, and spooning her partner. Thankfully, she does have slightly more sense, and stays on her side of the bed, as does he.

"Good night, Lucifer," she mumbles, already mostly back to sleep.

"Good night, Detective."


	5. momzilla

Chloe wakes up warmer and comfier than she has since her divorce. She goes to roll over and fall back asleep, because there's no way work is soon when her bed is _this_ comfortable, but there's something on her arm. Something warm and...breathing?

Oh. Wait a second.

She goes from comfortably half-asleep to wide awake in nanoseconds. Her eyes snap open, and she has to keep herself from startling and waking Lucifer up. Because she is currently cuddling her partner. Who she is engaged to, technically.

She almost misses when Palmetto was the biggest thing going on in her life.

Chloe studies her partner. She can count the number of times she's seen Lucifer asleep on one hand, and never like this. Never this close. His breathing is slow and steady, and she can feel it where her arms are wrapped around his stomach. It's peaceful, and she doesn't want to wake him. Neither does she want to examine the urge to lie here and fall back asleep, or even just stay here with him, quietly. 

With her arms around him, she can also feel muscle that she's seen used a million times. She'll admit she's, you know, wondered about that before. Gave it ample consideration. But she's never physically _felt_ it, none of the times they've been close but not quite as close as she wanted. Now that they are, she doesn't know how to feel.

Part of her feels like she should move her arms. She vaguely remembers demanding Lucifer get into bed, and she's sure this wasn't at all what he had in mind. It wasn't what she was expecting, either. Besides, she can't help but feel like she's feeling him up, and that's just shitty.

Chloe starts to carefully pull her arms away. Lucifer stirs almost immediately.

"Mm," Lucifer says, clearly not fully awake. Chloe yanks her arms back, hugging herself and pretending she's only just waking too.

"Hey," Chloe says, hoping the hoarseness of her voice doesn't give her away.

"Morning, Detective," Lucifer says, and his voice is lower this early in the morning. Her mouth feels dry. "What do you want for breakfast?" He stands up and stretches, and Chloe immediately rolls to the other side of the bed, cheeks burning.

"Anything's good," she says after a second to ground herself.

Lucifer doesn't respond, but she can hear his footsteps out of the room. Chloe finally pushes the sheets off and gets up, shaking her head to clear the last remnants of sleep from it. Her mouth tastes terrible. Before anything, she needs to brush her teeth.

She makes her way to the bathroom, fumbling around in the overly-complicated medicine cabinet for her toothpaste. She's sure she remembers putting it in there. It takes a second for her to find, because there are an _alarming_ number of things Chloe's pretty sure are only used in orgies in there. (Living with Maze led to learning some things.)

After she feels more like a person again, she makes her way back to the main room. "Lucifer?"

"In here!" he calls from a room she's never been to. She follows.

It's an extravagant kitchen, with a stove she's never seen outside of fancy cooking shows and countertops that are all sleek black marble. Lucifer's busy cooking something that, admittedly, smells amazing. He's also wearing a robe now, so she's not...you know, distracted. She slides into one of the barstools on the other side of the counter, and he smiles at her.

"What're you making?" she asks, leaning over the counter to look.

"Be patient, Detective," he says, shoving her back. She goes easily, curious but pretty sure it's for her. 

"I didn't know you could cook," she says, drumming her fingers on the counter.

Lucifer scoffs. "I'm thousands of years old. I was there when humans _invented_ most of these dishes."

"Always the hedonist, huh?"

"Exactly!" he says, beaming at her. She smiles back. "I can't cook everything, but the simple things are easy enough." Her stomach growls, almost loud enough to drown out whatever's sizzling in the pan. Lucifer chuckles. "It's almost done."

"Good," she says. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"There should be water in the fridge," he says, gesturing to his right.

She gets up and grabs a water bottle before sitting back down. He puts a plate of scallops, eggs, and bacon in front of her. It smells _amazing_. "Thanks, Lucifer!"

Unsurprisingly, it tastes amazing. She eats it far more quickly than politeness dictates, but he doesn't comment on it other than a comment about how great of a cook he is. She can't really deny it.

"Get a move on, Lucifer," she says a few minutes later, walking out of the bathroom having just finished getting dressed. "We already slept in, we're gonna be late for work."

Lucifer's ready, somehow getting into a suit faster than she got into jeans. He's waiting by the elevator, staring down at his phone and not paying attention.

"Lucifer? Lucifer."

"Our possible informant in Pierce's organization just got back to me," he says.

"What? What'd they say?" Chloe asks, immediately rushing over to him. 

"They aren't willing to talk about anything damning yet, but they are willing to meet in person."

"Which means you can do your desire thing," she says. "And we can move on from there."

"We're still awhile away from catching the lieutenant, unfortunately." He holds the elevator doors for her. "One informant isn't enough to take down a corrupt cop."

"Believe me, I'm aware," she says. "If they're not willing to talk about something that can take Pierce down, they might be willing to give us the name of someone who can." Even so, it feels like they actually have a foothold now. Something they can do, not just talk about. "We might not even need to get married at this rate," she jokes.

He doesn't reply.

* * *

Their case this morning is brutal. Even Ella, usually the life of the crime scene, is subdued and quiet. 

"Do we know who the victim is?" Chloe asks.

Ella shakes her head. "We don't even know how many victims there are."

Lucifer's wearing evidence gloves for the first time Chloe can remember. Part of it is that Ella's practically bullied him into it, reminding him that there's so much blood on basically _every_ available surface that there's no way she could get everything in order before Lucifer touches something important. Still, he didn't listen until Chloe gave him a look.

"Do we have any leads?" Chloe asks, tearing her gaze from someone's open chest cavity. This is the only full body at the scene, but there's way too much blood for it to be from one person.

She loves her job. But sometimes she really hates it.

"The house's owner should be back at the station," Ella says. "Dan's interrogating him now."

"Great," Chloe says, heading out as fast as she can while still being careful. Lucifer follows after her.

"Are you okay, Detective?" he asks.

"That was the worst crime scene I think I've ever seen," she says. "I'm fine, mostly, but...it's rough."

"We'll catch who did this," Lucifer says. 

"Yeah," she says. "We will."

* * *

As it turns out, the house's owner is blaming his neighbors' kids, saying he was out of the country on business. He's a uniquely smarmy guy, but his alibi is rock-solid. Even if his reasoning that kids in the foster system _must_ be responsible makes her lip curl.

"Men like that make me wish I was still in Hell," Lucifer says as they leave. She can hear the man behind them protesting but can't bring herself to care.

"I need a break," she says. "Let's go eat."

"Detective," Pierce says. "How's the case going?"

"It's going. Our first lead didn't pan out, but we have another one to investigate after lunch."

"It's only 11:30," Pierce says with a frown. "Work on this case until noon, there's a lot of press attention on this one."

"Yes, sir," Chloe says, trying to hide her clenched teeth.

She makes her way back to her desk, her partner following. As soon as Pierce is out of earshot, Lucifer says, "What an asshole."

Chloe laughs. "Yeah."

Pierce glances back at the two of them, expression unreadable.

"They texted me back," Lucifer says. "They're willing to meet at the penthouse, but no cops. Not even my fiancee."

"When?" she asks.

"Tonight."

She nods. "Good."

Her own phone goes off, then.

_Mom: CHLOE!!! You're getting married? And you told me over TEXT??_

_Mom: Call me when you can xo_

"Oh, fuck." She'd forgotten she'd texted her.

"What?" Lucifer looks at her phone. "Oh, your mother."

"She's still a little wary of you after you invited a criminal to my house," Chloe says.

"He _wasn't_ our killer," Lucifer reminds her. 

"Still. I probably have to take this, can you--?"

"I'll look up the information for our suspects," Lucifer says. "Go on, make sure everything's alright."

Chloe smiles at him. "Thank you, Lucifer. Seriously, I appreciate it." She goes to the break room, usually busy at this hour, but Pierce is working everyone to the bone. She's sure a few people are blaming her for that, because cops are like that. Still, no use dwelling on it. She hits dial.

Her mom picks up _scarily_ fast. "Chloe!"

"Hey, Mom," Chloe says. "Sorry about the text thing, I just--"

"No need, darling, I know how difficult weddings can be," her mother says. "I must say, I've never been the biggest fan of that Pierce fellow, but who am I to tell my daughter who she loves?"

"Um, I'm not actually marrying Pierce."

"Oh? My, that's a relief." Her mom laughs. "What a _dull_ man."

"You never even met him," Chloe protests, unsure why she's defending the criminal she's actively trying to catch.

"I knew," her mom says with conviction. "Who are you marrying instead? You're not getting back together with Dan, are you?"

"No, that's...not gonna happen. I'm...actually marrying Lucifer."

The silence goes on for long enough that Chloe actually checks to see if her mom hung up. She hasn't.

"...what?"

"Okay, I know what you're thinking," Chloe says hurriedly. "But he's grown a lot since then, and besides, the guy _wasn't_ a killer, so..."

"I'm not judging!" her mom says in a tone Chloe recognizes from when she quit acting. "I'm surprised, as all. I didn't think you two were a good fit."

"Things change," she says, looking at Lucifer through the break room window. He's focused on her computer, brow furrowed in confusion. Ella's next to him, clearly helping him with the labyrinthine precinct computer system. She smiles at him without even thinking about it. He isn't looking at her, though--too focused on helping her. It's not the dynamic she would have expected they'd have when they first met.

"You sound smitten," her mom says knowingly.

"I mean, we are getting married," she says.

"Good! You deserve someone who pushes you. And for his faults, Lucifer seems to be that person for you."

She hadn't expected her mom's acceptance. She hadn't needed it, either, since this was for a case and regardless, her mom doesn't control her life, but it's...nice. Even if everything's fake. 

"So when's the wedding?"

"Soon, but we don't have a date yet. I'll let you know when we do, I promise."

"It's a good season to get married in LA," her mom says, the clacking of a keyboard suddenly deafening over the phone. Chloe winces and moves the phone a little away from her ear. "Venues will be tough to book. Unless you were thinking of a destination wedding?"

"No," Chloe says. "Definitely not."

"Shame. There's a lovely church in the Beverly Hills area with an opening in two months, would that work?"

"No, no churches. Mom, you don't have to do this, we can book our own venue--"

"Nonsense, let me help! I don't get to see you or Trixie anymore, let me help where I can."

Chloe sighs. "Fine. But let me know _before_ you book anything, okay?"

"Is price an issue? Never mind, I remember your man's suits."

"Mom--"

* * *

The call goes on for much longer than their lunch break. Chloe ends up ordering something in and tipping the delivery person 30%, feeling rude for being _still_ on the phone with her mother.

"Trixie will be the flower girl, of course," her mom says.

"Mom, I'm at work. Can this wait?"

"Just one more thing," her mom says for the fifth time. "Who will Lucifer's best man be?"

She takes the phone off her ear for a second, putting her hand over the microphone. "Lucifer, my mom's asking about your best man."

"I have no idea," Lucifer says, as he has for most of the wedding questions. "What do you suggest?"

"It's your wedding too," she says, unsure why this is endearing to her. "But also, Maze, obviously."

"Oh, of course. Thank you, Chloe."

"Chloe!" her mom says, loud enough to be heard even with the phone this far from her ear. It's not on speaker or anything, she's just like that. 

"Yes, mom. His best man will be Maze, did you ever meet her?"

"You roommate with all the knives?" her mom asks, alarmed. "I'll...work around that, I suppose."

"Great, thanks, bye," she says, hanging up.

"Are all weddings this involved or is that because your mother is Penelope Decker?"

"Yes," she says. "Did you ever end up finding the suspects' information?"

"They're hardly suspects," Lucifer says, but hands over a file anyway. "The neighbors have a couple foster kids, neither of whom seem to have caused much trouble."

"That's kind of what I figured," Chloe says. "Hopefully forensic analysis turns something up. Anything about any other cases?"

"What? Oh, yes. I actually planned on heading out and speaking to someone now, if that's alright."

"Yeah, of course. I'll handle the paperwork on this one here."

"Lovely. See you at home," he says, and leaves with a kiss on her cheek. She moves away quickly, embarrassed.

"You moved in?" Ella asks, delighted. "Girl, when's the wedding? The bachelorette party is ready to go whenever."

"I'll let you know, I promise. That seems to be as much up to my mom as us, though."

Ella makes a sympathetic noise. "Momzilla, huh? I get it. My mom once threatened to beat up my first boyfriend if he didn't give me a promise ring."

"That's ridiculous. How old were you?"

"Oh, thirteen. We hadn't even held hands."

Chloe laughs. "Hey, Ella?"

"Yeah?"

"You're great."

"I know."

"Wanna be my maid of honor?"

Ella's mouth falls open. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. You're practically family to me, I--"

Ella tackles her in a hug. "Of course! I thought you were gonna ask Maze, I was so _jealous,_ this'll be fantastic!"

"Maze is Lucifer's best man, actually."

"Great! That's awesome. Been awhile since I hung out with her, dancing at your wedding'll be fun!"

Ella's cheer is infectious, and Chloe finishes the rest of her work for the day without getting down about Pierce or anything else. Trixie texts her a selfie of her and Dan baking something, and she saves it.

_Hey, Lucifer, am I good to come back to the penthouse yet?_

_Lucifer: our informant left about an hour ago_

_Lucifer: so yes_

It's dark by the time she gets out, nodding at Ella, who'll be pulling a couple late nights to handle the sheer amount of evidence their new case has brought. The drive back to the penthouse is quiet and uneventful, and she smiles at the bartender on the way up.

"Hey, Lucifer," she says when she walks in. Unsurprisingly, he's at the piano. He's playing something sort of melancholy but also sort of aggressive. It's not a promising sign. "How did your talk with the informant go?"

"Fine," he says, stopping playing. "They wouldn't give us any names of more possible informants, unfortunately, but they told me where we can find Pierce's headquarters."

"What? Oh my God, Lucifer, that's huge!" She's delighted, and not sure why he seems so down. "Is everything okay, though? You seem unhappy."

"I'll live, Detective. Good night."

It's then that she sees the couch is made up for someone to sleep on, and she remembers them waking up _spooning_ , and suddenly she's worried. "Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?"

"No, Detective, you've simply made your own opinions quite clear."

"What? Lucifer, what're you talking about?"

Yeah, this situation's been kind of unbearable, but she thought _they_ were fine. That their partnership, their friendship was strong enough to make it through these awkward patches. She's worried she was wrong.

"You've taken every step to distance yourself from me. I'm not a fool, Detective."

"What _steps_ have I taken?" It's one thing when he's mad at her for something she's actually done, but this? This is infuriating. "I've put my life on hold for this! For your idea!"

"Put your life on hold," Lucifer says, angry and disbelieving. "I'm sorry for assuming you wanted to catch someone who'd hurt our friend. _Clearly_ I was wrong."

"Lucifer, you know I didn't mean it like that--"

"No, Detective, if you were going to be this uncomfortable at even the _facade_ of marrying me, you should have told me. We can figure something else out."

"I'm not uncomfortable with the idea of marrying you," Chloe says. "What even gave you that idea?"

"What didn't?" Lucifer says, pouring himself a drink. "You practically flinched away from me when I said goodbye earlier today. You don't call this place your home even in public when we have to maintain this ruse. I know when I'm unwanted, Chloe."

She doesn't like hearing him say her name in anger. "Lucifer, that isn't why I'm uncomfortable!"

"Do enlighten me," he says, voice practically a growl.

"I don't like second-guessing our conversations," she admits. "I don't like not knowing what's real and what's part of this. You never lied to me and I appreciated that, and now I don't know what's true and what isn't! Even when we're not in public, it feels like there's something off between us, and I hate it."

Lucifer looks like the wind's been taken out of his sails. He seems more ashamed than angry now. "Oh."

"So yeah, I've been uncomfortable. This is one big lie, and I hate that. I mean, you say you never lie, but when you proposed, you said you loved me, so clearly--"

"I wasn't lying," Lucifer says, voice low. Chloe freezes.

"What?"

"You...mean a lot to me, Detective," Lucifer says. It's hardly the start of any sort of confession, and she tries to clamp down her disappointment. "You're my closest friend. Of course I love you."

"Oh. You mean a lot to me, too."

The silence between them is awkward again. Chloe hates it. She never used to feel like this around Lucifer, unsure of her words and her actions, trying to find safe ground. "You're, uh, sleeping on the couch?"

"You seemed uncomfortable, so," Lucifer says, voice trailing off.

"I'm fine with it, Lucifer. Seriously. What kind of fiancee would I be if I kicked you out of your own bed?" she tries joking. Lucifer smiles, and she holds back a sigh of relief.

"Well, then. I'll...head to bed, then."

She watches him go, only turning her head when he starts to shrug off his jacket. Sure, she's seen him in less--she's slept with him in less, in the most literal sense of the word. But since he clearly doesn't feel what she's feeling, it feels like an invasion of privacy. 

Chloe hadn't realized he felt like she was rejecting him. In hindsight, that maybe should've been obvious--Lucifer's always demanded her attention, whether from Pierce or Dan or Maze or even Trixie, sometimes. 

It's a relief to know _he's_ not uncomfortable around her, though. She gets into bed an hour or so later, Lucifer already sound asleep. She doesn't reach over the other side of the bed for him.

* * *

Chloe wakes up in Lucifer's arms and her phone blaring. He doesn't wake up, so she has to weasel her way out of his arms and answer the phone.

"Detective Decker," she says, still waking up.

"Chloe! I found the perfect venue, but you haven't replied to my email yet."

She glances at the clock. "It's 5:30 in the morning."

"You're not up yet? You know, you really should start getting up earlier. It makes exercising in the morning so much nicer."

"Okay," she says, not willing to fight her mom on anything when she's busy holding back yawns. "I'll check the venue out. Thanks, Mom."

"Of course," her mom says. "Tell Lucifer I say hello!"

She climbs back onto the bed, resisting the urge to get back into the warm sheets, and checks her email. The venue is a park with some man-made lake and a bunch of flowers proudly labeled as native to the area, which is sort of undercut by the definitely-not-from-Southern California-green grass that coats the entire place. It is really nice, though, and there's an opening for--oh. Next weekend.

Chloe gently nudges Lucifer with her arm. "Hey. Lucifer."

He mumbles something in a language she's pretty sure isn't English and doesn't wake up. 

"Lucifer." She jostles him, a little harder, until he finally stirs.

"Is everything okay, Detective?" he asks. His only-just-woken-up voice really is nice. Still, she can't let herself get distracted.

"Yeah, my mom just found a venue. But its only opening is really soon, and I wanted to be sure you were okay with it."

Lucifer sits up in the bed, and Chloe makes herself keep her eyes off his torso. He reaches for her phone. "Oh. I thought your mom was looking for a church, this is much better."

"Yeah, I didn't think a church would be your scene," she says. "Told her no churches."

"Thank you," he says, voice quieter than it usually is. She smiles at him, though he's still looking at her phone. "Next weekend? I suppose we'd have to rush preparations, but with Penelope Decker on the case it should work out. Yes, I'm fine with that."

"Great, I'll let her know," Chloe says, grabbing her phone back and quickly drafting a reply. "Trixie definitely has something that could work for a flower girl, and I could wear my old wedding dress--"

"What? No."

"...Lucifer, we have less than two weeks to plan all this."

"Even so! You're not wearing the dress you wore to marry _Daniel_ to marry me. It's an insult."

"Do you know how expensive wedding dresses are?" she asks. "I can't afford another one."

"I can pay," Lucifer says. "Come on, Detective."

"It's your money," she says. "Just...something reasonable, okay? Nothing covered in Swarovski crystals or anything."

"You can pick your own dress, obviously," Lucifer says. "I'm just making sure price is no object."

"Great! You saw how much that venue costs."

Lucifer smiles at her, and for a moment, it feels like this is something real. 

"Besides, if you don't look resplendent in something new, it'll hardly make Pierce jealous."

Or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you may be wondering why the focus on breakfast food in this fic! it's mostly because i write these at like 4 in the morning and i am usually hungry  
> also, updates will likely be slowing sometime soon! i still plan on updating at least weekly, hopefully twice weekly, but i'll be busy since i'm seeing one of my best friends in the world for the first time in person! if it's been a week or so without the next chapter, feel free to comment asking for when the update's coming (as long as you do it politely)!


	6. something borrowed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the beginning of this work is a bit of a timeskip! i originally planned to write all of those events out, but they'd have dragged on, and this work is already 26 chapters. plus more, if i get any good ideas for an epilogue.

The next two weeks go by far too quickly. Chloe and Lucifer stay in the penthouse, wake up curled into each other more often than not, and go to work without ever talking about it. Chloe's not even sure if Lucifer knows it's happening, since she always seems to wake up earlier than he does, regardless of when he goes to sleep. She'd ask him about it, but then he'd ask why she was curious, and she really doesn't like lying to him.

Wedding prep is thankfully relegated to her mom for the most part, who handles it with a ferocity Chloe hasn't seen since her father's funeral. Trixie's always excited to help when she's staying at the penthouse. Lucifer always loudly bemoans her as a nuisance, but game night becomes a weekly thing, mostly at his insistence. Once, Chloe walked out of the bathroom to find Lucifer putting a blanket over Trixie, who'd passed out on the couch with a lollipop (that Chloe distinctly remembers telling her she couldn't have) in her mouth. She never commented on it, only hugging him from behind. He startled a bit, but relaxed as soon as he realized it was only her.

Their life goes on as this new normal, oddly domestic. They go on stakeouts after work, waiting for Pierce to show up at his own organization. He never shows up, and Chloe's starting to worry that he's only coming and going when they _can't_ be there. Still, they learn more and more about the Sinnerman's empire. The names and faces go from overwhelming to familiar. 

Nothing really notable happens. Chloe finds a dress and refuses to show Lucifer, reminding him he's not supposed to see it until the actual wedding. Ella cheerfully tells him she'll deck him, and Maze, sitting on top of the bar, casually plays with an oddly curved knife while she does. Later that day, he goes to get fitted for a suit, claiming he has too much class to wear an old one to his own wedding. Chloe goes with him until the tailor starts running his hands along Lucifer's inseam and she has to excuse herself, cheeks flaming.

"Aw, you're blushing!" Ella says, mildly tipsy.

"Yeah, Chloe," Maze says, grinning. "You're _blushing_."

Chloe resolutely ignores both of them.

Her bachelorette party rules, though the mood is more somber than it should be with Charlotte's absence.

"How's she been?" Linda asks.

"She still hasn't woken up," Chloe admits, Maze passed out on her shoulder. "I'm getting worried that she, you know, won't...won't."

"Try not to dwell on it," Linda advises. "What's done is done, and all you can focus on is how to move forward."

Chloe wakes up the next morning with a hangover worse than she's had in months and Maze standing above her on the bed. It doesn't startle her as much as it should.

"Mazikeen," she says. "What the fuck."

"First of all, this? Is ridiculous." She gestures down to where Chloe's face is tucked into Lucifer's neck, her arms around his chest.

"Shut up," she mutters, trying to kick Maze off the bed and failing miserably. "Move, I gotta get up."

"Yeah, your mom's gonna kill me if I don't get you both up _now_."

"My mom's here?" Chloe asks, suddenly much more awake. 

"Yes," Maze says. "Now move, we gotta go to the venue."

"Hold on, I gotta wake up Lucifer."

Maze physically drags her back. "He's not supposed to see you until the actual wedding, genius."

"That's just in my dress, Maze. And besides, it's all bull, remember?"

"Still." Maze refuses to budge, literally or figuratively. "Come _on_." She practically shoves her into the elevator, still in sweatpants, teeth unbrushed. 

"Great," Chloe says. Her mom greets her downstairs by also dragging her, down the hallway and into a limo that Chloe's sure Lucifer unknowingly paid for. The sun's not even up. "Mom, what time even is it?"

"It's 6am, and you're getting married in the afternoon, so we should have _barely_ enough time to get you ready," her mom frets.

"I like her," Ella says, wearing a light gold dress that Chloe vaguely remembers as picking for her bridesmaids.

"You're just saying that because you like her movies," she accuses.

"Uh, yeah! But also she's pretty cool. I like your style, Penelope."

"Thank you, Ella, could you grab my makeup bag for me, please?"

Ella happily acquiesces, and Chloe resigns herself to another five hours of this.

"You're much more of a winter," her mom says, dabbing foundation on her face and rubbing it in with her thumbs, sort of defeating the purpose. "Ella, could you find a good red lipstick for me? Not the Scarlet Sunset."

"Mom, shouldn't I be in my dress before any of this?"

"I'm just starting," her mom says, drawing in her eyebrows with more pressure than is strictly necessary. "We need to start now, and your dress is at the venue."

"I...don't remember bringing it there?" Chloe asks.

"That Maze is useful, even if she refused to wear a dress," her mom says. "Though I'm sure her suit is quite dashing."

"She is the best man, after all," Chloe says.

"I'm not sure why Lucifer didn't ask his brother. What was his name again? Adam or something?"

"Amenadiel?"

"Lord, what's with his family?" her mom asks, shaking her head. "At least we won't be dealing with them. He didn't give me an address for any RSVPs."

Chloe's almost disappointed. She'd have liked to meet the man that made Lucifer blame _everything_ on him, if only to say fuck her wedding and yell at him then and there. Still, fake as this is, she wants Lucifer to enjoy today. She wants to enjoy today, dammit. 

They pull up to the venue after what feels like hours. Her mom drags her into the small building next to where the actual ceremony is taking place, uncaring that her daughter isn't even wearing any shoes. Maze didn't give her _any_ time to get ready. From what she can see of the place, it's really nice. The arch has roses and some other flowers she doesn't know the name of weaved into it, and they're right by the lake, colors of the sunrise reflected really nicely into it. That's all she gets to see before she's unceremoniously pushed into the building, Ella trailing after them.

The next several hours are full of lacing into her dress and shoes and makeup and plenty of other things she'd rather do without. Her mom lets her listen to a podcast "if it'll make you keep still", which it does. She watches the sun rise higher and higher until it's fully up, and the building gets warmer. Her mom goes to work out something with the air conditioning, fretting about her makeup running as if she didn't put on enough setting powder to make Chloe sneeze. 

Ella gestures for her to pull out a headphone. She does. "I have something for you."

"Please, no more makeup," Chloe begs.

Ella grins and shakes her head. "Nah. It's something Lucifer gave me to give to you."

"Really? What is it?" she asks, curiosity piqued. 

Ella hands her a bracelet. It's made of a dark metal she thinks is one of the ones from her ring, but forged into thin patterns she doesn't quite recognize. She thinks it might be constellations, but her knowledge of space was limited to 10th grade physics.

"He told me to tell you it was something borrowed," Ella says cheerfully. "Something new, too, he said, but he refused to tell me where he got it, so the dress can do for that too in a pinch."

Chloe tears up.

"Oh, no no no. What's wrong? Your mom will _kill_ me if you ruin your makeup."

"I just--" She takes a deep breath, willing herself to stop crying before she starts. "I really love him, Ella."

Ella grins. "Well, good thing it's your wedding day, huh? How long have you been pining after each other, anyway?"

"Too long," she says. Still going, too, though it's not like she can admit it.

"Aw, Chloe," Ella says, pulling her into a hug. Chloe hugs her back, trying to stay positive.

* * *

Before too long, she can see Lucifer waiting at the arch, Amenadiel behind him as officiant. He looks nervous. Maze is sitting in the corner chatting with Linda, also in a golden bridesmaid dress. The rest of Lucifer's groomsmen are mostly people Chloe doesn't know and thinks maybe worked at Lux, at some point, ignoring their possible criminal ties.

"You ready, Decker?" Maze asks once the time comes, arm-in-arm with Ella behind her. Her mom squeezes her arm in a comforting gesture when she doesn't immediately reply.

"Yeah," she says. "Let's do this."

Here Comes the Bride starts playing, and the crowd rises. She looks at them, not quite able to handle looking at Lucifer down the aisle. Dan looks mildly constipated but otherwise fine, smiling at Trixie when she comes skipping in front of them dropping petals. He looks away when the groomsman who would've been paired with Charlotte passes. Pierce, also in the audience, looks as emotional as he ever does, jaw clenched in anger. She briefly makes eye contact with him. He looks away. It's fiercely satisfying.

After she reaches the front rows, she finally looks up at Lucifer. He's tearing up, which makes her want to tear up, and she thinks his smile is genuine. She beams at him. Amenadiel looks fondly at both of them, and her mother finally releases her arm.

"Don't screw this up," Maze hisses at, presumably, both of them before she goes to stand behind Lucifer. They both chuckle a little.

She doesn't pay attention during most of the ceremony, as it's all for show, just smiling at Lucifer and occasionally making faces at Trixie where she stands holding Maze's hand. 

"Your vows?"

Lucifer takes Chloe's hands, and suddenly she can't keep looking at his face, studying their locked hands instead.

"Detective--Chloe," he corrects, and the crowd laughs. "I was a vastly different person before you met me. A person I saw no issues with at the time. And then you came into my life after I had lost a dear friend, and told me we would find who was responsible. I've heard many people make promises they couldn't keep, and I had no reason to believe you were any different. You more than surpassed my expectations."

He runs a thumb across the back of her hand, and she risks a glance up at him, finding he's looking at her with such affection that she can't help but smile even wider. Her face is starting to hurt. Her eyes feel wet.

"I tried flirting with you how I knew to flirt with anyone, and you...well, you weren't even a little interested," he says, and the crowd laughs. "But I wanted you in my life, however that looked. I became your friend, and realized that relationship to me was more important than the possibility of...well, something else."

She appreciates him censoring himself, and briefly glances at Trixie, still standing next to Maze.

"I made a lot of foolish mistakes over the past few years. Part of me still can't believe you said yes. You've made me a happier man, Chloe, but more importantly, you've made me a better man. I'll spend the rest of my life here on Earth with you--I promise. And I'm a devil of my word."

The crowd laughs, and Chloe wishes she could kiss him then and there.

"Lucifer," she says, and she had something entirely different planned, but all that comes out is raw honesty. "I didn't acknowledge how I felt for you for...well, years. Every time it seemed like we might get over ourselves, something else happened. You went and got a shotgun wedding in Vegas--" (Candy waves from her spot in the crowd) "--and I got engaged."

She doesn't glance over at Pierce, though she should, see how the plan is working. Right now she can't bring herself to care.

"But some part of me always knew," she says, looking up at her partner. "That I loved you. That I love you. I can just be myself with you. I've been able to since I first met you, when you were even more annoying than you are now." The crowd laughs, and Lucifer smiles. "But you're a good person. A good partner. And I'd spend the rest of my life with you, if you'd let me."

The crowd awws. Lucifer looks like he could kiss her.

"Do you promise to--"

"I do," Lucifer says, interrupting his brother.

"Should I even bother finishing the question, Chloe?" Amenadiel jokes. It draws a small laugh, though nothing like Lucifer's speech.

"I do," she says, barely paying attention.

"You may now kiss the bride."

They haven't kissed since that night in the penthouse, but it feels as natural as breathing, leaning up and pressing her lips to his. He kisses back with surprising hunger, and a kiss she'd intended to keep tame gets passionate in seconds. She only pulls away to breathe, almost startled by the applause. He's breathing heavily, too, and his eyes are dark when he meets her gaze. Chloe almost leans forward again, but remembers where they are. She doesn't look away, though, unable to tear her eyes away from his.

"Congrats!" Ella says, hugging Chloe from behind and distracting her from her haze. "You two made me cry like a little baby."

"She did," Maze says, though her eyes are a little wet too. Chloe values her life, so she won't comment on it. "Trixie and I stayed strong, though."

"That was really sweet, Mommy," Trixie says with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Congratulations, sweetheart," her mom says. "You two do need to sign this contract over here to be legally married, though, come on."

"This wasn't enough?" Lucifer asks, bewildered, but follows, not letting go of Chloe's hand. She squeezes it. He squeezes back.

They sign, Lucifer's handwriting loopy and elegant, Chloe's quick and barely legible. It feels like nothing at all, even as it dramatically changes her life. 

"Go you, Luce! Told you you should go get her!" Candy says, running over and nearly tackling Lucifer in a hug. He doesn't seem surprised, though Chloe is. 

"You did? You were married, though?"

Chloe had barely known she was coming to the wedding, having only heard about it a couple nights prior when her mom tried to convince Lucifer to send her back to Vegas. 

"Oh, it didn't last," she says, glancing around. Seeing no one else in earshot, she says, "It was more like what you two have going on."

"So it was...fake?" Chloe asks, processing.

"Yeah! I needed some of Lucifer's money for my family's place back in Vegas, and he needed my help with some stuff." She beams at them both. "But he told me allll about you."

"What'd he say?" Chloe asks. 

"It's not important, we should mingle," Lucifer says hurriedly, almost pulling her away. Chloe turns to look back at Candy, who winks. She's not quite sure what she means by it.

"You guys!" Ella says. "I know you have a lot of people to talk to, but I just wanted to say how _happy_ I am for you! I thought it would take you way longer to get your shit together. Oh, whoops, is Trixie nearby?"

"She knows what swears are, it's fine," Chloe reassures her. 

"Oh, thank fuck," Ella says, grinning widely. "I've had...a few. Really nice of you guys to do this open bar thing!"

"Miss Lopez, are you alright?" Lucifer asks. 

"I'm _great_. Definitely not thinking about how I'm gonna find _my_ love of my life. Or...no, that's good enough." She hiccups. "Anyway, go mingle! I'm heading over to those appetizers!"

They exchange a glance, but they do have to mingle, so they go.

Her mom is still in wedding _prep_ mode, fiercely chastising people who drink too much from the open bar, which sort of defeats the purpose. She does smile at Chloe whenever they pass, though, and it seems genuine. 

Trixie's busy running around the tables taking the little candies that are scattered about that. Far from dissuading her, Maze is helping, staring at people who refuse to give theirs up with her teeth bared. In turn, Linda's following Maze, apologizing.

Chloe sees Pierce a few times, but doesn't approach him yet. He looks uncomfortable, upset, which is what they need as well as vindicating. She does eventually let go of Lucifer's hand when some women from her acting days wave her over, but kisses him goodbye. It's nothing like the last kiss, but sweet, and she pulls back with her eyes still closed, smiling. He squeezes her hand before he leaves.

"Girl, what a catch!" says one, in a low-cut white dress. She's pretty sure it's meant to be an insult that she wore white, if the way her mom is glaring at her is any indication, but she's too happy to care. "How on Earth did _you_ get him?"

That kiss felt real. Actually real. For the first time since this started, Chloe feels hopeful that maybe her feelings aren't actually unrequited. Sure, it's a longshot, but fuck it, it's her wedding day and she's _going_ to enjoy it.

"I know," says another. "He could have anyone! I guess you just caught his eye somehow."

"Funny how things work," says the first.

"You know," Chloe says with a sigh. "I don't really like any of you. And I don't remember inviting you. So you should probably get lost."

"Ex _cuse_ me--"

"The paparazzi weren't allowed anywhere near here, but they might catch you on the way out," she finishes with a smile. "Go on, now. My husband's best man'll make you if you don't."

Perfectly on cue, Maze walks up behind Chloe, brandishing a knife that she's sure the venue doesn't want her to have. The women's faces pale, and they leave in a rush.

"Thanks, Maze."

"Anytime," Maze says.

Pierce finally works up the nerve to approach her, and Maze looks at him with more disdain and anger than she's ever seen levied at anyone. Since she's been a cop for years, that's saying something.

"Mazikeen," Pierce says. She doesn't even respond, turning on her heel and walking away. "Alright, then."

"Hi, Marcus," she says.

"Congratulations are in order."

The conversation is stilted and awkward, and she has to suppress a grin. 

"Thank you," she says. "Lucifer means a lot to me."

His face twitches a bit. "I can see that. I'm happy you're happy, Chloe."

"I hope you find someone who makes you as happy as he makes me soon," Chloe says, knowing it's cruel but not feeling that bad about it.

"I had," Pierce says, and with that, he walks away.

Ella approaches her again. "Yeesh. What was that about?"

"Congratulations," she says, looking after him.

"Have you guys found any proof?" Ella asks, voice low.

"Not yet, but we have some leads," Chloe says. "Hopefully we'll be able to find out more soon."

"Not until your honeymoon's over," Ella says, suddenly commanding. "Seriously, enjoy your time _alone_." She waggles her brows.

"Come on, stop," Chloe says, face warm. 

"He's your husband now and you're still this flustered?" Ella asks. "Wow, you got it _bad_."

"Yeah," she says, wishing she wasn't honest. 

They keep mingling, with no dancing at Lucifer's request. She's not sure why, since she remembers him dancing quite well whenever they got the chance, but she figured it wasn't that big of a deal. She sees Dan angrily talking with Lucifer at some point before leaving with Trixie. Pierce leaves shortly after talking with Chloe, and she relaxes even more. 

"What was that thing with Dan about?" Chloe asks after the night's almost completely wound down. It's sunset, now, and a few people have started to take the foldable chairs and put them away.

"Something I think he'd prefer stays between us," Lucifer says. At her look of worry, he adds, "Nothing too serious, Detective. I promise."

"You still call her Detective?" her mom asks. 

Lucifer shrugs. "Some say I'm a unique person." Chloe stifles a laugh.

"Well. Ella and I have a surprise for you two."

"We said no gifts," Chloe says. 

"It's fine, it wasn't _that_ expensive. Well, it was, but it's worth it!" Ella adds. "So, we knew you two had plans to go back to your apartment after this, but that seemed sad, especially since you have a flight to catch tomorrow morning."

"What did you do?" Chloe asks, stomach sinking.

"We got you a night at one of LA's most romantic hotels," her mom says, beaming. Chloe starts to feel a little nauseous. "Your honeymoon is somewhere lovely, but it'd be such a shame to go back to your place after your _wedding_. And we couldn't find an earlier flight."

"Oh, really, we couldn't accept this," Lucifer says. 

"Nonsense! It's already paid for."

"And nonrefundable!" Ella adds. "The limo's waiting out front to take you two to it."

"Thanks, guys," Chloe says, trying not to grimace. "Lucifer, should we?"

"Yes," he says, and pulls her away unceremoniously, without even a polite goodbye.

In the limo Chloe immediately asks for the partition to be put up.

"Don't get anything on the seat," the driver says, but complies.

"Are you okay with this? We can probably get an Uber back to your place, or something." 

"Our place now," Lucifer reminds her. "And besides, what does it matter? It's not like we haven't shared a bed for the past few weeks."

"True," Chloe says. For some reason, it feels different, though--not borne out of politeness or necessity.

The hotel is stunning, if a little too pink and red for either of their tastes. Their room is on the top floor, because her mom doesn't know restraint, and Ella can never say no to a plan she thinks is romantic. The room itself, though, is way too much.

"Is that bed...heart-shaped?" Lucifer asks, mildly disgusted.

"Is that a mirror on the ceiling?" Chloe asks. "That seems like it would just be awkward."

"It is," Lucifer says. "And that's coming from me."

"You've never stayed in _this_ room, have you?"

Lucifer laughs. "I've been with plenty of people, but my penthouse usually suffices."

"Okay. Good. Could you, um, help me with my dress?"

"Of course," Lucifer asks. She turns around and he starts undoing the laces. She has to focus on a spot on the wallpaper (heart-patterned) to keep from shivering when his fingers brush her back.

"Thanks, Lucifer."

"Do you have anything else to put on?" he asks once her laces are mostly done. 

Chloe freezes halfway through stepping out of the dress. "Oh. Uh, no."

She normally wears something modest when they're sharing a bed. She's in just her underwear now, though, and suddenly resolves that she doesn't care about the back pain, she's keeping her bra on.

"Ah. Well, I can take the floor if you'd prefer it." Lucifer's studying the wallpaper now, whether to give her privacy or out of awkwardness she isn't sure.

"It's not that different from what we've done the past few weeks, is it?" she asks.

"If you're sure," he says, though he sounds doubtful.

They climb into the bed, and it's shaped oddly enough that they have to be much closer to each other than they normally are when they fall asleep. She can feel the heat of him from where she's lying, even with her back to him. Sure, they've woken up cuddling, but that always happens after she's passed out, not when she's still awake, fully aware of his every breath. Their legs keep brushing.

She doubts she's getting any sleep tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like mentioning this chapter was written to hozier's entire discography. it wounded me emotionally, but was worth it.


	7. this is awkward, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry belated christmas and happy current hanukkah! sorry this is late i'm a disaster of a person and also i have been Busy. this chapter's pretty short, so my apologies for that--once i'm back home updates should be more regular

Chloe wants to call the whole thing off. She wants to make up an excuse or an illness and run to the bathroom, wearing her wedding dress out of the hotel in the weirdest not-walk of shame she'll likely ever experience. She _wants_ to roll over, grab Lucifer, and--

Fuck, she has to think about something else now. Anything else. She tries to think of how upset Dan looked at the wedding, and focus on that--Charlotte isn't even awake yet, how can she be thinking about anything other than avenging her, than saving her?

Except she knows Lucifer wants to catch Pierce as much as she does, more than, even. She knows that for all his faults and metaphors and--general Lucifer-ness, he's a really, really good person. 

So--scratch that, different train of distraction.

She tries to think about Maze's teasing if she goes through with this, which doesn't work, because that doesn't exactly drag her away from thinking about Lucifer's hands on her waist, on her thighs, on--

Nope. Didn't work either.

The problem is that everything in her life right now seems to go back to the man lying beside her, and not in all the unflattering ways it did during the first days of their partnership. The _problem_ is that all the reasons why turning around and saying "all cards on the table, I'm mostly in love with you and I want everything you have to offer, especially now" is seeming like less and less of a bad idea.

Still, though, the idea of him saying that she's misinterpreted things, that he's not interested anymore--it calms her down, even as it leaves a pit in her stomach.

Lucifer's breathing isn't slow yet. He's not asleep. She's not falling asleep at all tonight, she's pretty sure, having to lie in a weird, arched-back position just to keep from tangling their legs together.

Maybe Chloe should just get up and leave. This is torture, she's pretty sure. Maze would agree. The interpersonal awkwardness is worse than any bullet wound she's ever experienced, and she's a _cop_.

Maybe Chloe should stop wussing out and just _say_ something to him. Maybe he's lying on the other side of the bed thinking the same thing, except _that's_ a dangerous train of thought, because if he is--

She's halfway through a fantasy about his hands on her, her mouth on him when she realizes holy shit, she's literally thinking about her _partner_ who's trying to solve a _crime_ with her while they're lying in the same _bed_. To solve the aforementioned crime. Regardless of what he wants or she wants, this has to be--to be impolite, somehow. Rude. Presumptuous.

It's the first thing that manages to really get her to stop and ignore the heat between her legs.

Chloe takes a deep breath, holds onto the pillow she's using, and tries to fall asleep. It's still weird. She actually manages to start falling asleep, relaxing before jolting awake because oh, yeah, weird heart-shaped bed in a honeymoon suite, figures that she'll roll right into him the second she stops actively trying not to.

He inhales sharply, and she's not breathing at all. "Chloe."

"Sorry," she says, resolutely not thinking about his voice, hoarser than she's heard it, or him calling her Chloe instead of Detective, and definitely not thinking about the fact that she's wetter than she's ever been in her _life--_

Yeah, this plan sucks.

"Sorry," she says again. "Be right back."

Chloe practically jumps out of the bed, heading towards the bathroom, which really is _luridly_ pink, apparently. The mirror is (unsurprisingly) heart-shaped, and it feels like it's mocking her when she stares into it.

Her face is flushed, her bottom lip is red from biting it, and she's grateful the mirror's only enough to see to her neck, because she's sure she looks like a fucking wreck already. Christ, she barely touched him.

"It's fine," she says, quietly enough that Lucifer shouldn't be able to hear. "It's _fine_. This'll be an awkward night, but then it's over and everything can go back to normal. Stop thinking about--" 

She can't bring herself to say anything out loud, so she puts her hand on the porcelain in front of her, letting the cold of it ground her. She splashes some water on her face, takes a second to get ready for a night of lying awake next to someone she really wants to fuck and can't, apparently, and heads out.

Chloe's completely unprepared for him to be turned around, looking at her. The lighting in the room is too dim to really make out his expression, so her brain unhelpfully supplies the look on his face from right after their wedding kiss, dark eyes, mouth slightly open and very tempting.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"Yeah," she says, voice higher-pitched than it should be. "Just--this is kind of awkward, right?"

He laughs a bit, and she can still make out his grin from here. It's reassuring, and she makes her way back to the bed, climbing under the sheets (still avoiding touching him).

"It is," he says. "Still, we've braved worse."

She lifts her hands up like scales. "Hardened criminals who've shot and poisoned both of us--" She lifts one of her hands. "--versus a night in a relatively comfortable bed." She lets her other hand drop. "I don't know, they seem about equal to me."

He laughs, a little louder, and she grins back at him. "Fair point, Detective."

The awkwardness subsides, a bit, though she's still hugging her legs together to avoid touching him at all. "I doubt I'm gonna be able to get that much sleep in this bed," she admits.

"I know. The mirror really is unsettling."

"What? I wasn't even talking about--" She glances up. "Oh, wow. That sucks."

Seeing her reflection at this angle is weird. Lucifer sitting next to her, both their necks craned upwards, looking somehow closer together and farther away from each other than they are.

"People have sex looking at this?" Chloe asks, bewildered.

"I agree," Lucifer says, shaking his head and looking away. Chloe, still looking up, studies him a bit. His body language isn't nearly as tense as hers, though she might be projecting. "What were you talking about then?"

She blinks, looking over at him. "What?"

"If it isn't the mirror keeping you up," Lucifer says. "What is?"

"Just--this bed is weird, huh?" Chloe says, feeling her face heat up, hoping the room is dim enough that he won't notice. 

"I suppose," Lucifer says, and thankfully doesn't pry. "We could ask for a different room."

"Ella said it's nonrefundable," Chloe says. "I'd feel bad, this place looks--uh, expensive."

"That isn't always a good thing," Lucifer complains. Chloe lifts an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Says the man with an ancient Sumerian wall and first editions of Shakespeare."

"Those have sentimental value," Lucifer insists. "You still have things from your early days on the force, don't you?"

"A _first edition_ isn't the same as some photos."

"The camera hadn't been invented," Lucifer says, almost haughty. She has to bite back a grin.

Still, it makes her wonder if he just doesn't _have_ any photos from his childhood. From what she can piece together, it was hardly a happy one. He literally calls himself the Devil. 

If Chloe ever meets his father, she's pretty sure she's going to break his nose. Hopefully Lucifer won't mind too much.

"Detective?"

"Sorry, got lost in my own thoughts for a second," she says, shaking herself back to reality. "I really can take the floor so we can get some sleep, you know."

"If anyone's taking the floor, it should be me, Detective. Your mother helped to pay for this place. I'd hardly kick you out of bed."

Ignoring the innuendo because she really, truly cannot handle it at the moment, she says, "I don't want to look at the mirror either."

His smile is small but genuine, and she leans into him. Just her head on his shoulder, because she's not ready or brave enough to do what she wants to and kiss him or--something, but this is still nice. A casually intimate moment, one they've had over and over these past few weeks. It still feels new every time.

Lucifer slowly puts an arm around her. They don't say anything for awhile, just enjoying each other's company.

Chloe keeps thinking about tilting her head back, pressing a kiss to the hollow of his throat. She's pretty sure he'd freeze up, not say anything for a second, but after that, she's got no clue. _Hopefully_ he'd be interested, ask her if she was sure in that low, hoarse voice she'd have been thinking about a _lot_ more if she wasn't actively sharing a bed with him. She'd say yes. The rest is obvious.

If she's wrong, though, she'll have just ruined their partnership and their friendship and maybe even their case. So there goes that plan.

She is brave enough to risk holding his hand, and he laces their fingers together without even seeming to think about it.

"We could just stay up," Lucifer suggests.

"And do what?" Chloe asks.

"Talk, I suppose. Unless you had other plans for our wedding night."

It's what she wanted to hear, _technically,_ but his voice is light, teasing. She snorts. "You wish."

The awkwardness is back, but Chloe thinks it's only on her end. Figures.

"So," she says. "Candy was your _first_ fake wife?"

Lucifer makes a vague noise of agreement. "She needed my help and I needed hers to gauge Charlotte's motivations."

"Your step-mom?" Chloe asks, bewildered. "I thought you trusted her?"

"I do! But we hadn't seen each other for a very long time, and she had a lot of reasons to be angry at me. I needed help from someone who she would've thought was, well--"

"Too vapid to be plotting something?" she asks cheerfully.

"Candy is cleverer than you might think, Detective," Lucifer says reproachfully.

"I'm sure she is. She's a good actress, at least."

There's a few beats of silence.

"...why didn't you tell me?"

Lucifer doesn't say anything, and Chloe has to force herself to stay where she is, not shrug his arm off and demand answers, or run to the bathroom and avoid her problems again.

"I'd prefer not to tell you that, Detective," Lucifer says. It isn't a lie, but it's hardly an answer. It's not even a non-answer. It's nothing.

"What'd you need her help with, then?" He doesn't answer. "You don't have to tell me _everything_."

"Figuring out my mom's motivations, as I told you," he says. "She needed more--financial freedom--"

"Cash," Chloe interjects, smiling up at him when he shoots her an annoyed look.

"Cash," Lucifer agrees.

"Oh, that's why you proposed to her with a Snuggie and champagne and everything," she says, sitting up a bit (though not so much as to move Lucifer's arm from her shoulders). "It wasn't a real proposal."

"We did _get_ legally married," Lucifer says. "So it was _real_."

"Yeah, but it wasn't as though you, you know, had any feelings for her," Chloe says, and Lucifer acquiesces with a slight grimace. "I'm surprised you avoided all of Vegas's vices for that long."

"I may be a hedonist, but I'm not one to renege on a deal," Lucifer says.

"Even if the deal was your idea?"

" _Especially_ if the deal was my idea. As was this one, if you recall."

"When I agreed, I didn't think we'd be cuddling in a honeymoon suite," Chloe jokes, but it sort of falls flat.

"...do you regret it?" Lucifer asks, quiet enough that she can barely hear him, even close to him as she is. 

"No," she says, embarrassingly quick.

"Good," Lucifer says, just as quickly.

She takes a deep breath. "Do you?"

He doesn't say anything for a second. "No. I should, but I don't."

"Why _should_ you?" Chloe asks.

"This is my third fake marriage," Lucifer says. "It's becoming a bit of a habit."

Chloe laughs. "Okay, fine. But seriously, weird as this has been...I'm glad I'm doing this with you."

His grip on her hand tightens, almost to the point of discomfort. She looks down at their hands, fingers interlaced, unsure if she's ready to see whatever look he has on his face at the moment. 

"And I with you, Chloe," Lucifer says, grip relaxing.

She still doesn't look up, but squeezes his hand back. Chloe leans a little more of her weight onto him. 

"One has to wonder what Miss Lopez thinks we're up to in here," Lucifer says.

Chloe smiles even through the heat of her face. "Definitely discussing the mirror."

Lucifer snorts.

"You realize she'll probably ask you for details, right?" she reminds him.

"I'll tell her I'd like to keep that between us. It's true."

"Romantic," she teases. 

"How dare you."

"Come on," Chloe says. "Your vows earlier were romantic by pretty much any standard."

"They were the truth," Lucifer says. "A carefully phrased truth, but--still."

"So were mine," she admits. "Like you said--carefully phrased."

"You said you'd spend the rest of your life with me," Lucifer says.

"I did," she says. His grip on her shoulder tightens a bit, pulling her closer. "And you said you'd spend the rest of your life on Earth with me."

"You're my best friend," Lucifer says. "And I'll stay here until I can't anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Until my father forces me to return to hell," Lucifer says. "Or until you--" He stops there. "I doubt there'll be something left for me on Earth after that."

"Lucifer," Chloe says. "I'm not planning on going anywhere."

"I should hope not," he says, smiling like he's telling a joke that _really_ didn't land. "But you're mortal."

"You know you bleed, right? I shot you."

"I know," Lucifer says. "You wore your necklace today."

She reaches her free hand up to where the bullet would normally hang on her chest. "Of course I did."

"It's convincing, I suppose," Lucifer says, slightly distant. 

"I wore it because you gave it to me," Chloe says, knocking him with her shoulder a bit. "And it's one of the best gifts I've ever gotten, so."

"How many years were you married?" Lucifer asks, disbelieving. " _That_ was the best gift you've ever gotten?"

"Gifts aren't really Dan's thing," Chloe says, used to defending her ex-husband. 

"He gave Charlotte that charm bracelet," Lucifer grumbles.

"Charlotte's special," Chloe says, hating that the tone's back to somber, feeling bad that she'd managed to feel cheerful in the midst of everything in the first place. "Hey, once she wakes up and they get married, does that make Dan technically your step-dad?"

"Eugh," Lucifer gags. "That's terrifying, don't _say_ that."

"Isn't he, though?"

"I refuse to entertain the idea," Lucifer says, which isn't a _no._

"Step-Dan," Chloe says, half-teasing. 

"You're a terrible wife. Aren't you supposed to be nice to me?"

"I'm only _technically_ your wife anyway," Chloe reminds him. "And only in public."

"So what are we right now then?"

It's exactly the opportunity she's been waiting for, to define what this is, what _they_ are. Even if she gets rejected, she'll at least know. If she doesn't get rejected, then--well, it'll be like when they were on the beach, and he said he wasn't good enough for her, and she realized he was. 

This time he won't run away and get fake married again. Hopefully. It'll be a bit hard unless she signs divorce papers.

"Detective?"

"We're partners," she says. She really doesn't want him to run away again. At all. "Spouses without benefits."

She can feel him shaking with laughter before she actually hears it. She risks a glance up, and sees him looking right at her in the mirror. She looks back down.

"We're going to catch Pierce," Lucifer says. "That's benefit enough."

"Yeah," Chloe says. "Just have to take down an entire criminal empire first."

"You say that like it's difficult," Lucifer says.

"Uh, yeah?"

"We can do this, Detective," Lucifer says. "Keep your chin up. We've got a good plan and plenty of leads. With your deductive instincts and my--well, everything, it'll be simple."

"Simple," Chloe says, smiling despite herself. "You know, when you say it like that I almost believe you?"

"You should, I'm always honest," Lucifer says.

"I know," she says. "Hey, Lucifer?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," she says. "For staying up and, uh, talking with me. I guess."

"Any time," he says. 

Chloe's still thinking about lying back down, dragging him with her, using this honeymoon suite for what it was meant for. The only reason she hasn't is because if she's wrong, if he isn't interested, she's forcing him into a situation where he has to pretend everything's _fine_ with her when it's not. That leaves a nasty taste in the back of her throat.

They sit in a mostly-comfortable silence for awhile longer, and Chloe actually starts to drift off again. Lucifer, at some point, gently shifts her so that her head isn't on his shoulder, apparently, because she wakes up holding a pillow and alone.

"Lucifer?" she asks the room at large, half-asleep.

"Detective!" Lucifer says, sitting on the couch. He looks as though he hasn't slept at all.

"Lucifer, I told you you could have the bed," she grumbles.

"I'm fine," he says, which she knows means anything from "I'm having the best day of my life" to "I'm drunk and making out with a bridesmaid at the wedding of a murder victim at like 8 in the morning" for him. Needless to say, she's not really reassured.

"Okay," she says, not super willing to press the issue. "Let's go make our flight."

Lucifer smiles at her. "I asked your mom to bring you some clothes so you didn't have to walk out of here in a wedding dress."

"Thanks," she says, touched. He walks over and hands them to her, and she holds onto his wrist to keep him from walking away immediately.

"Detective?"

"What you said last night," she says. "That we could do this."

"I stand by that."

"I know," Chloe says. "Just--I really needed to hear that. Thank you, Lucifer."

His smile is a little unsure. "What are partners for?"


	8. honeymoon

They leave the hotel to excitement from Chloe's mom and happy tears from Ella. She smiles at them, gives Ella a hug, and ignores Maze's smirk. Maze is standing with a woman with long dark hair Chloe's never met, but looks devastated about something, and turns to walk away as soon as Lucifer steps out of the elevator. Maze follows her, but not without one last leer at the pair of them. 

"Why'd you take so long?" Chloe asks. "Thought you'd be in a rush to get to this part."

"I have to look _presentable,_ Detective," Lucifer says, and true to form, he's in a $10,000 suit (she's guessing) and has more product in his hair than Chloe ever has (she's sure). 

"For the airport?"

"I've gone to the airport in pajamas," Ella interjects.

"I'd make sure to be fashionable no matter where we were going," Lucifer says. Chloe's relieved he can have this conversation as naturally as he is without stating what she knows to be true--they're not going to the airport. They're not getting on a flight, and they're not going on the idyllic honeymoon Chloe refused to let her mom plan. Even if it's fake, that's just _weird_.

"Alright, then, let's head out," Chloe says, handing their room keys to the tired-eyed woman at the front desk. "Thank you."

"Have a nice day," the woman says on rote and turns away. 

"Rude," Lucifer mutters to her, but slips a bill into the tip jar anyway. She not-so-suddenly feels very fond of him, and slips her hand in his. He does look away from her immediately, but his face is a little pink, so she's not too worried.

"Your limo's out front, come on," her mom says, bodily dragging them towards the limo Lucifer had ordered well in advance. "Are you sure the company's safe, Lucifer? I didn't get to run a background check--"

"I know the driver personally, Ms. Decker," Lucifer says. "I assure you, we'll be fine."

"Oh. Well, then." Her mom doesn't seem to know how to respond, which, to be fair to her, can be difficult when Lucifer's being sincere. He's always honest, but--there's a difference, albeit one she can't articulate.

Lucifer holds open the limo door for her, because of course he does, sliding after her. She can hardly see out of the windows, they're so tinted, which she knows is good considering _everything_ but does make her feel a little claustrophobic.

"Hey!" Candy says from up-front, making Chloe jump. The limo pulls away from the hotel.

"Jesus!"

"There's no resemblance, I assure you," Lucifer says.

"Sorry to scare ya," Candy says, smile just as sweet as when they first met and far less saccharine. "Luce asked me for some help with your 'honeymoon'. You wanna stop anywhere before y'all go to the penthouse?"

"The penthouse is fine," Lucifer says.

"Partition up?" Candy says sweetly. "If y'all want _privacy_."

Lucifer's suddenly very interested in something out of the window. 

"We're fine, Candy," Chloe says weakly.

"Suit yourself," Candy says, attention returning to the road. She's pretty sure they're speeding, but Chloe knows this part of L.A. has pretty bad traffic monitoring, so she's going to pick her battles and just ignore it.

"So," Lucifer says, fidgeting with his ring. "Where's our stakeout?"

"Um," Chloe says, glancing towards the front. 

"Right," Lucifer says. "Candy?"

"Say no more," she says, rolling the partition up. 

"I think she'd get along with Miss Lopez," Lucifer says. "Well?"

"The stakeout is a really nice mansion in Beverly Hills," she says, pulling out her notes from her pocket. She'd gotten really used to doing all of _this_ \--the nitty-gritty police work--digitally. Unfortunately, they're pretty sure Pierce's network has access to their phones, their computers, _definitely_ anything they've ever used in the precinct. "Here's the address."

He looks at it for a half-second before handing it back to her. She's not sure if his memory is fantastic or terrible. "There's a point near there that should work well for a stakeout. It has a decent view of the place and it's relatively isolated."

"Would we be able to come up with an excuse if any of the lackeys came out and found us?" she asks, making a note of it.

"Yes," Lucifer says, and doesn't share any more.

"...okay," Chloe says. "Anyway, we'll need plenty of good camera equipment--you have that, right?"

"Of course, Detective," Lucifer says. "And better stakeout food than sandwiches."

"I still don't understand your issue with that," Chloe says with a sigh. "But sure. Weird, but fine."

Lucifer smiles at her. She smiles back despite her irritation. It's how they work, after all.

Candy rolls the partition down a fraction. "You guys are fully clothed, right?"

"Bloody hell, _yes,_ Candy," Lucifer says. 

"Cool," she says, rolling the partition all the way down. "We're here, by the way!"

Lucifer steps out of the car. Chloe leaves her side before he can grab her door for her, to his annoyance. They're outside Lux's back entrance, quiet and isolated enough that she's not too worried about being seen. "Thank you, Candy."

"No problem," she says, and smiles genuinely at him. "And hey, Lucifer?"

"Yes?"

"Don't fuck it up!" 

He smiles at her, but it seems a little strained.

"Thanks, Candy," Chloe says.

"See ya, Chloe," Candy says, and pulls away.

"Let's go, Detective," Lucifer says, characteristically impatient. She rolls her eyes and follows him to the elevator.

"Why do you need two elevators, anyway?"

"In case I need to get a guest in or out _quietly_ ," he says. "Besides, it made it much easier to get the piano into my penthouse."

"Fair point," she says, barely understanding.

They exit into the penthouse, Chloe following Lucifer to a storage closet she'd never noticed before. It's absent of anything she'd expect to see in a storage closet, naturally, with no extra linen or cleaning supplies or anything.

"That just seems like it would be uncomfortable," she says. "It's longer than my forearm."

"It is," he says. "Sort of the point, really."

She doesn't know how to respond to that. "Have you got the cameras?"

"Yes," he says, handing her one. "Come on, then, I have a few cars in the garage that should work."

"How rich are you, really?"

"Richer than God," he says.

"I was looking more for a number," Chloe says. "It's how rich I am now, too."

Lucifer scoffs. "What's mine was yours already, Detective."

"...oh," she says, falling out of step with him for a second. "Uh, right, so lots of cars?"

"Not _lots,_ " he says. "A few that aren't very conspicuous."

"Flashy?"

"If you insist," he says.

The garage does, in fact, have lots of cars. She's starting to think Lucifer might be one of the richest people in LA. Maybe California. She'd ask him about it if she wasn't scared to hear the answer. 

There's a car she would buy, out of place next to all the convertibles and a party bus (which he doesn't remember buying, apparently). It's a newer model of--she'd call it a minivan if Lucifer wouldn't be offended. It's got an air freshener in it, even.

"When would you even need this?" she asks.

"For a stakeout, obviously," he says. "It's such a dull car. It may as well be invisible."

"Hey," she says, offended. "I would buy this car."

"Case in point."

"For that, you're not driving," she says, snatching the keys out of his hand.

"Detective!" Lucifer protests, grabbing for them. "It's _mine_."

"I thought what was yours was mine?" she says sweetly. 

His expression shifts into something she can't quite recognize, all raised eyebrows and wide eyes. "I--"

"I'm driving," she says. He grumbles, but gets into the passenger seat easily enough. She slides into the driver's seat. The air freshener is black cherry. It's oddly normal, but still fits.

"It still has that new car smell," she says, pleased.

"I don't _use_ it often," Lucifer says. 

They have a mostly friendly argument through the traffic-filled drive to the house. Lucifer directs her to turn only one exit before where she would've turned if she was dumb enough to drive right up and say hi. She hasn't even joked about it for fear that he would.

It's hard to find open space in Beverly Hills that isn't private property, but Lucifer assures her that it isn't. It's a little bit of open space, surrounded by enough desert plants to sort-of hide the car and a _fantastic_ view of and into the house. 

"How'd you know about this place?" she asks, taking pictures of known criminals walking in and out of the house like they own the place. Hell, they might.

"I know a lot of things, Detective," Lucifer says. "Cool ranch puff?"

"Maybe later," she says. "Lucifer, we've already gotten more proof than we have the past few _weeks_. We've been here for what, five minutes?"

Lucifer smiles at her. She goes back to taking pictures, ignoring the fact her face feels warm. "A little longer."

They talk about nothing for a bit. She learns about the work that goes into managing Lux, namely that Maze used to take care of it and now she doesn't and it takes much more work than he'd anticipated. She learns that it's more a passion project than lucrative, "emphasis on passion", and she reminds him that she knows it isn't lucrative, remember when she asked Dan to investigate him?

"That was _Daniel,_ " Lucifer says dismissively. "My word is much better than any of his investigations, I guarantee it."

Normally, she'd laugh that off or gently scold him, but given Dan's genuine and not-unwarranted anger at Lucifer failing to tell them that Pierce was dangerous, it leaves a rough taste at the back of her mouth. She takes a cool ranch puff to avoid talking for a minute.

"Oh, hey," she says, zooming on the camera. "I'm pretty sure that guy's an assassin, could you check my notes?"

Lucifer flips through a notebook with more post-its than an undergrad's philosophy textbook. "Where--"

"Near the back, last name starts with a Z, I think."

It ends up starting with an S, for Sabath, and he is, in fact, an assassin. His presence there proves that the house isn't owned by the other gang it might've been, and she takes so many pictures that her hand starts to cramp.

"Well done, Detective," Lucifer says. 

"Thank God for this spot," she says with a relieved sigh.

"He had _nothing_ to do with it," he mutters. 

"What is this spot, seriously?"

Lucifer shifts in his seat. "It's a place people come for privacy."

"Oh, it's a hookup spot?" she asks. "I probably should've guessed that. Very on-brand for you."

"I'd be offended if you weren't correct," he says. "I thought you'd be upset?"

"Why would I be?" she asks. "I know you've slept with a lot of people, why would I care if you did that here or at the penthouse?"

"You asked if I'd slept with someone in our hotel room," he asks, and Chloe swallows, throat suddenly a little tight. 

"Seemed a little weird to sleep in the same bed, that's all," she says, and Lucifer nods, frowning slightly. It's clear he doesn't buy it, but Chloe can't come up with a better lie or misdirection or metaphor. She turns back to the camera. "Oh, _crap_."

"What?"

"Put the cameras away, somewhere we can hide them," she says, putting on the lens cap and shoving her camera into a bag. 

"Why?" he asks, a little panicked, but complying. Thankfully, there's almost nothing in the spacious glove compartment (this car really is nice), so they can fit most of the really damning things there. Chloe hops into the backseat to put the stuff they _might_ be able to explain away in the trunk.

"Someone spotted us, I think," she says. "A few people were pointing in this direction, I didn't get a good look--"

"Should I start the car?" he asks. 

She turns to look out the windshield. There's a truly spectacular California sunset they have a _fantastic_ view of that she can't spare a second thought. "No, they could follow us, no way we'd escape them in this car."

"Another benefit of convertibles," he says, holding out a hand to help her back into the front seat. She doesn't take it. "Detective?"

"Okay, uh, this is a hookup spot, right?" she asks.

"...yes?" His brow is furrowed.

"So we just, uh, make it look like we're hooking up. I'm sure they've dealt with it before, right?"

"I, uh." Lucifer's sitting straighter than he normally does, and he's looking anywhere but her. "We're not even sure they're on their way down."

"Sure, yeah, but I'd rather be safe than sorry with this."

"You're right," he says. "Charlotte needs us to do this."

"Yeah," she says, throat tight, and takes his helping hand to drag him to the backseat. 

There's no graceful way to climb into the backseat from the front, least of all when you're 6'3". He nearly kicks her on accident, but she manages to shift away in time. His hair looks a little messed up, and she has the strangest urge to try and fix it for him.

"How do you plan on doing this?" he asks, dropping her hand like it's hurting him.

"I--I don't know," she admits. "If you're not comfortable with it, we can come up with something else?"

"Such as?" he asks.

"I have no idea."

"Wonderful," he says through gritted teeth.

"Lucifer, I'm not gonna do this if you're uncomfortable," she says. Sure, the fact that he does _really_ stings, but still. 

"I'll be fine, Detective," he says. "Truly."

He doesn't lie to her, sure, but his arms are crossed. Usually his body language isn't so closed off; she's not even sure if he realizes how much he's telegraphing how he feels right now. 

"Lucifer," she tries again. "I'd rather we take our chances with driving away than do this if you don't want to. Seriously."

His gaze softens, and he uncrosses his arms. "I appreciate that, Detective."

"So?"

"I'm genuinely fine," he says, and she believes him for the first time. 

"Right," she says, suddenly nervous. "Let's, um. I don't--can't really picture the mechanics of this? Like, in a car."

Lucifer, who under normally circumstances she's sure would be happy to share his wide breadth of knowledge on the subject, is silent. He does shift so that he's sitting just in the car, rather than leaning against the car door like he wants to escape.

"Right," she says. "I could--"

She feels more flustered than she ever has in her life. Or--maybe tied with last night. Still, last night she was closer, but she was just _wondering_. Thinking about it, about him. Now that Chloe's faced with the prospect of talking about this with Lucifer, about _suggesting_ ideas to make this look _convincing_ , she kind of just wants to curl up and not talk anymore.

"Chloe," he says, and she shivers. Just with the weird intimacy of him saying her _name,_ Jesus. 

This is gonna kill her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would apologize for the cliffhanger but i actually don't feel all that sorry!  
> updates, as i'm sure you've noticed, are slowing down a bit. life has returned to the busy life of an education major :'( much as i'd love to update daily or weekly, i can't guarantee any sort of regular schedule. that being said, feel free to continue asking for updates either here or on tumblr (also dryadfiona!) if it's been awhile. external motivation helps make make the time lol


	9. intimacy for the sake of justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> super sorry about the long wait! also i didn't bring the rating up to explicit, but i did consider it, so warning for content that brushes up against nsfw

Chloe feels like her heart's about to leap out of her chest, it's beating so hard. She doesn't know what to do with her hands. Her palms are sweaty, and she just--she's lost.

"Lucifer," she says, and stops. He's looking at her like he's not sure if this is the best thing that's happened to him or the worst. She's right there with him. "Lucifer, I don't know what I'm doing."

It's an embarrassing admission, sure, but that doesn't matter. She's been able to be herself around him since they met, basically, even when she thought he was a creep or even the _real_ Devil (albeit briefly).

He swallows, and Chloe looks at the bob of his Adam's apple without trying to hide her gaze. If she was feeling up to looking up and meeting his gaze, which she is not, she wonder if she would see his eyes darken, like they did at their wedding, or confusion, or discomfort, or some strange mix of the three. That's what she's feeling, at least.

"Right," Lucifer says, and shifts in his seat. "Let's just--"

He holds his hand out, which she takes. He half-guides, half-pulls her into his lap, and fuck if she hasn't had this dream before. (Admittedly, not in a car, and not with possible hired thugs on the way.)

Her leg muscles ache where she has herself propped up to not rest her weight on him, but they're still _close_ , even without them actually touching. Lucifer's looking up at her like he's just as lost as she is, which is ridiculous. He's at least done something _like_ this before.

(Of course, even when she's doing things she's done a thousand times with other people, any sort of intimacy with Lucifer feels like something new, something real. Even intimacy for the sake of justice and not for its own sake.)

"Fuck," she says, eloquently, and presses her lips to his.

It's the only point of contact between them, but it's electrifying. The kiss goes from something she can handle to open-mouthed pretty quickly, and she couldn't say which one of them started that. Maybe both of them, too aware of the fact that this is a performance. She can't quite focus on that, though, not right now.

Lucifer's hands find her hips, and she gasps, breaking the kiss.

"I--"

"It's fine," she says, breathless, and leans back into him.

Chloe feels like she's on fire. She moves her hands from the seat behind him to Lucifer, one wrapped around his shoulders to ground herself, the other in his hair. He groans a little into the kiss, and she gives up on keeping herself propped up, resting more of her weight against him, hips not quite touching. His hold on her tightens, and it takes a stunning amount of her self-control not to jerk her hips forward.

"Lucifer," she gasps, and he breaks the kiss to lean his head back against the seat.

"Fuck," he says, and Chloe laughs a little, head resting on his shoulder.

"You good?" she asks, ignoring how absolutely wrecked she sounds.

"Yeah," he says, and his voice feels like a physical caress, it's so--tender. She doesn't really think she has the capacity to deal with that, actually, so she presses a closed-mouth kiss to the hollow of his throat.

His hips jerk up, and it's not really a _surprise_ that he's as, uh, affected by this as she is, but _Jesus_. Chloe gives up on any semblance of keeping this professional, sinking down so there's only clothes between them.

They just stay there for a second. Chloe breathes into Lucifer's neck, pretending the scent of his cologne isn't doing it for her as much as the actual physicality of what they're doing. Lucifer's head is still against the back of the seat, and it can't really be comfortable, but he hasn't made the slightest hint at wanting to move, so.

Experimentally, she gently bites down against his throat. It's barely any pressure at all, but he makes this fucking _noise_ , and there's no way she makes it out of this with her dignity intact. 

"Chloe," Lucifer begs, and she doesn't know what he's asking for. She lifts her head and tugs his hair to bring his face over to hers, kissing him with enough force to bruise. She wants to--she just _wants_.

Lucifer's hands haven't moved from her hips, and on a logical level, she knows that's the most "polite" thing to do in this weird situation. Still, part of her wants his hands to wander, wants some proof that he's as interested in this as she is.

She moves her hands, and has to take a second just to breathe at Lucifer's whine when she stops tugging at his hair. Their foreheads are pressed together, and she has her eyes closed, because she doesn't want to see the look in his eyes.

"Detective," he says, and Chloe can feel the warmth of his breath against her face. "Are you--"

"More than fine," she says, hating how she sounds like she's more turned on than she's ever been in her life. It's true, but still--she doesn't like feeling this vulnerable, exposed. To ignore it, she kisses him again, moving her hands down towards his chest, starting to unbutton his shirt.

Finally, his hands move, helping her with the shirt, fingers brushing as they work. When the shirt's completely unbuttoned, she pulls back just to look at him. It's nothing she hasn't seen before--there's nothing Lucifer she _hasn't_ seen before--but never from this angle, never from this _close_.

"You're gorgeous," she breathes, and he tugs her back towards him. She goes without complaint, sighing into the kiss. He's a little desperate now, hips grinding against hers in these small swivels, like he can't control himself.

"You," he says, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth in a surprisingly sweet gesture, "are beautiful, Detective. Nothing else could compare, not the stars or the sea or the Silver City--"

He kisses her neck, and she braces her palms against his chest. His stubble scrapes against her throat, and she hadn't thought about that in any of the many fantasies she's had about him, somehow, as if it isn't one of the hotter things she's experienced.

Chloe's fully clothed but she feels like she's on the edge already, it's so good and so _much_ , so naturally the thugs knock on the window then. The two of them jerk apart from each other, and she's surprised even though this was the _point_. She has to remind herself of that now, rolling down the window and apologizing in a rush of words.

"It's fine," says the guy, not even bothering to hide the gun holstered at his side. "Just--get out of here, alright? This is private property."

"Sure," she says, rushing to climb into the driver's seat, biting her lip when she brushes against Lucifer's leg on her way. His climb into the passenger seat is far from graceful, and when they pull out of the clearing, they don't say anything.

Chloe still feels too warm, almost feverish. She needs to take a cold shower, or a long, warm one, because holy shit, that was everything she'd ever imagined and more. Of course, in all her fantasies she'd never imagined this part after, where she can't even look at him sitting on her right, too afraid to see what he looks like.

Discomfort would obviously be the worst thing, and she knows they'd checked in with each other, that they'd agreed to do--what they did, but she's worried she stepped past some boundary, missed some sign.

Of course, if he looks like she _feels_ right now, that's--good, technically, but she wouldn't even know how to start that conversation. The thing with Chloe is--she doesn't like to do things halfway. Not her work, not her friends, and certainly not her love life. If she's in, she's in. If Lucifer's interested in this, the carnality, but isn't interested in the domesticity and the lazy mornings and the--shoe stuff, to use his Monopoly metaphor, then she'd have to step back entirely.

The problem is, she might be too far in for that now. Hence keeping her eyes fixed on the road, almost unblinking.

Lucifer doesn't say anything for the entire ride back to the penthouse, and when she pulls into the garage behind Lux, the silence is almost stifling. Thankfully, neither of them rush to leave the car once it's parked, like Chloe worried about, but still.

"Look," Chloe says, and Lucifer exhales, long and low. "I--I'm--"

"We did what we had to, Detective," he says, and Chloe feels her heart drop to somewhere near her knees. "You don't have to justify yourself to me."

"Right," she says, unsure if she's more angry or upset. "Well, I'm gonna go take a shower."

Chloe doesn't look back at the car on her way to the elevator. The doors close behind her when she finally turns, and he's still just sitting there, staring after her.

Really, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

* * *

One long, cold shower later, Chloe's put on pajamas and is fully considering sleeping on the couch to avoid ever being near Lucifer ever again, but it seems he's had the same idea. He's lying down on the couch, almost too tall for it, and looks pretty uncomfortable. She's pretty sure he's not asleep yet, but he doesn't open his eyes when she steps into the room.

Fine. If he doesn't want to talk about it, she won't either. She heads to the bedroom, and nestles into in the absurdly comfortable sheets, and hates how she feels lonely without him there. She'd lived on her own for more than a year, without Dan, without Marcus, and without Lucifer. It's not like she _needs_ someone here.

But she does want Lucifer here, and that stings more than it should.

She tries to sleep, but finds she can't, still uncomfortable, still lonely. With a sigh, she gets up and resolves to talk to Lucifer about this. It'll probably sting, and it'll definitely be one of the most awkward conversations she's ever had, even by Lucifer standards, but she can't live like this.

When she heads into the main room, Lucifer's shifted, asleep in his _suit_ , which she knows he'll complain about tomorrow. She never really gets the chance to look at his face when he's asleep, since they usually wake up spooning, and she just--looks at him for a second. People usually look younger when they're asleep, face unmarred with tension, but he looks--older, almost. Contemplative. 

Without really thinking about what she's doing, she heads back to the bedroom and pokes around various closets until she finds an actual blanket (and plenty of things she can't even _picture_ the use for). Heading back to the couch, she drapes the blanket over him.

God, she's fucked, and she turns back towards the bedroom, resigning herself to a mostly-sleepless night.

"Thank you, Chloe," Lucifer says. He sounds--well, like he just woke up. The tone's surprisingly open, for Lucifer, and she doesn't turn to look at him.

"No problem," she says. She wants to say so many other things, but everything she can think of falls short of what she means. "You know, I hate to kick you out of your bed."

"Are you sure?" he asks. She nods before she can change her mind.

He gets up and follows her to the bedroom, and after pulling back the sheets, she gets the briefest glimpse of Lucifer with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. It's cute, she thinks, and smiles at him.

"What are you looking at?" he asks, more confused than accusing.

"You," she says before she can stop herself.

She's pretty sure Lucifer flushes a bit, but doesn't call him on it as he climbs into bed.

It's a start, at least.


	10. just watching too many sci-fi movies

For the first time since this charade began, they don't wake up curled into each other. Chloe's on her side of the bed, still. She wishes she didn't feel cold, alone, but she'd gotten used to waking up with Lucifer in her arms (or vice versa).

She pushes the sheets off her and climbs out of bed, ready for another day of research on the Sinnerman's organization. Lucifer doesn't stir like he usually does when she gets up, and she takes a second just to look at him. 

He always looks--calmer, like this, but not more peaceful. He seems older when he's not following her around with childlike excitement (usually over something wildly inappropriate).

Chloe doesn't know how long she spends just looking at him, but he does eventually start to wake up. She doesn't _run_ out of the room, but she's definitely rushing to sit on the couch, open her laptop, and pull up something that looks convincingly like research. 

"Morning, darling," Lucifer says sleepily, making his way to the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"I'm alright, thanks," she says, not taking her eyes off of her laptop screen. She's not sure what she's looking at is _actually_ helpful, but it's something, and if digging deeper is a distraction from whatever the hell happened yesterday, great. 

Unfortunately for her, Lucifer liked to take up her time, space, and attention _before_ they were (technically) married, and now their boundaries have shifted. To what, Chloe's not sure, but it's not as much of a surprise as it should be that Lucifer sits right next to her, side pressed against hers, arm around her shoulders.

It's all so domestic. If, of course, they weren't currently looking for evidence.

"What are you looking at?" Lucifer asks, leaning into her personal space, close enough that she can tell that, despite the fact that he literally just woke up, he smells like cologne. It's unfair, honestly. 

"The properties surrounding the house we looked at," she says, keeping her eyes fixed on the screen and not on the lovebite on his neck. She could just turn her head and--do nothing, because this is fake, and she needs to catch her lieutenant and ex-fiance, the criminal mastermind. 

"Did the photos from Sabath not work out?" Lucifer asks.

Chloe blinks a few times. "I...forgot."

"I'm going to grab you some coffee," Lucifer says, and smiles at her. It's not smug, like it usually might have been, just sweet.

"Lucifer," she says. "We should talk."

He freezes halfway from getting off the couch before settling back down, a little further. "Detective."

She can't really decipher his tone. "I mean, we--"

"We--"

They both cut off at the same time, though whether that's out of him being polite or because he doesn't feel up to putting what they did into words, like she can't, she's not sure. 

"I..." Chloe sighs. "Are we okay?"

It's not what she should ask, not what she wants to say, not what she wants to _do_ , but their partnership means the world to her, and even if it _kills_ her inside, she has to make sure they're fine.

He smiles, and it's a little bitter. "Of course we're okay, Detective."

"Lucifer," she says, upset and frustrated, "I'm serious. I don't--we did a lot, and, I don't know, if I made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry."

His smile drops, and he mostly just looks confused. "Is that what you've been worrying about all morning?"

"Yes," she says, because that was certainly _part_ of it.

"Chloe," he says, and his voice is so--so something, she's having a hard time looking at him. "Nothing you could do would make me uncomfortable. You're--" He stops. "We're partners."

She feels less like she's on the edge of something, more like they've both taken steps back, but she's still not sure from _what_. "It's the same for me, you know. For better or worse, right?"

He smiles, looking at her a little helplessly. If this was different, it would be so easy for her to pull him towards her, press her lips to his. But they are what they are, and much as she wants more, that's enough. Has to be.

"I'll go grab you that coffee now," Lucifer says, and Chloe nods, turning back to the screen. She looks up more on their assassin, confirming the gang loyalties she'd suspected, using it to try and piece together proof of the Sinnerman's organization still being in play.

Lucifer's on the phone, doing who knows what, talking in a language she doesn't recognize. It's harsh and guttural. Admittedly, she'd never had a chance to learn more than basic conversational Spanish, but she hasn't the faintest idea. Lucifer's from Europe, probably, maybe it's Slavic?

"Mazikeen," he says at some point, and Chloe perks up.

It's been almost no time at all since the wedding, but it feels like it's been weeks, so much has happened. Lucifer continues speaking rapid-fire in that language. 

"What are you talking with Maze about?" she asks after an hour or so of them talking non-stop.

"Maze's role in Pierce's planning," he says, which isn't _news_ to her, but she can't deny that she'd appreciate more details, if only to know what her role in everything was. She's still confused by how Pierce had broken up with her, even if--well, it didn't work _out_ for her, exactly, but she's okay. Happy that she's not engaged to a criminal mastermind, anyway. 

"What?" Lucifer says. "No."

Chloe can hear Maze on the other line, loud enough and angry enough to make it further than the phone speakers should really allow. It's not clear enough to make out words, though.

"Eve?"

Chloe tries not to react to the way he says that. She stops typing for a second, and Lucifer glances over at her. She goes back to work, mostly, still listening intently. Of course, he goes back to speaking in that other language.

The call goes on for another half an hour. "Maze doesn't have anything to help us, and it's unlikely that she'll be able to gather any conclusive evidence."

"That's all you got from a two hour long call?" she teases.

"We were also discussing her role in manipulating me," he says mildly.

"What'd she do?" Chloe asks.

"Oh, made me think my father was manipulating me in my sleep to do good deeds."

She's not super sure where to start with that. "Oh. Why?"

"To keep me away from you," he says. "They thought I'd be able to convince you that Pierce was manipulating you."

Chloe knew Maze had fucked with her and Lucifer in some misguided attempt to--piss Lucifer off, or something, she's not sure. There's a lot she's not sure about, these days. "Oh."

"Well, it was in vain anyway, I suppose," Lucifer says. "She's promised to keep us updated if anything else happens."

"She moved from betraying you to helping you that fast?" Chloe asks, bewildered. "And you trust her?"

"Maze is my oldest friend," he says. "We've had our--rough patches, but we understand each other."

Chloe smiles. "Good. I'm glad things are alright now."

"Besides, we're not human, we forgive each other quickly enough."

Chloe snorts. "Right. Who's Eve, by the way?"

She tries to sound casual, but doesn't seem to succeed, if the confused look on Lucifer's face is any indication. "She's Pierce's mother."

"She's what?" Chloe asks. "I thought Pierce's family was dead? Didn't he say the Sinnerman killed his brother?"

"He's the Sinnerman," Lucifer reminds her. "But I suppose he wasn't lying."

"Wait, he killed his own brother?" Chloe finds that hard to imagine. "I mean, I knew he killed people, but that's--I don't know, that seems different."

"You've never had siblings," Lucifer says with a tight smile. "Anyway, she's in town."

"Why?"

"To see me, according to Mazikeen." Lucifer frowns down at his phone. "Came quite a long way."

"Why you and not her son?"

"We used to date," Lucifer says.

"You...dated Pierce's mother."

One day, Chloe's going to piece together Lucifer's insane family tree, where Charlotte Richards is his stepmother and Amenadiel is his brother and Pierce is his ex's son. Until then, she's going to ignore it entirely.

"Sure," she says. "Why not?"

"Eve's been staying with Maze and Linda. I think Maze may be interested in her, actually," Lucifer says conspiratorially. (Another line on the ouroboros of a family tree.)

"Sure," she says again. 

"Speaking of Dr. Linda," Lucifer says. "I'm fairly certain I have an appointment with her soon." He glances at his wrist as if he's forgotten that he's still only in a robe. (Chloe has not.) "What time is it?"

"Uh, a little past 2."

"I'd best be off."

It's weird, considering the physical intimacy they have sometimes, that they don't kiss goodbye. At least, that's what she's telling herself when part of her is upset that she doesn't get one.

Further research doesn't reveal much more about Sabath that's useful, but it gives her a few ideas of where to investigate for the rest of their "honeymoon". She's relieved that they've gotten as much as they needed to from that house. Being in a car with Lucifer again is already going to be awkward, let alone _there_.

Her phone vibrates. Half-expecting something from Maze or Lucifer, she checks.

**_chloe i know you're gettin buzayyyy but get back to me when you can!!!_ **

Ella.

_Is everything okay?_

**_i don't know!!! i can't find the feather from the crime scene and i KNOW it's the key to everything_ **

_I thought you didn't have any leads on what it was?_

**_oh i have no idea what it is! but pierce is GOOD, i couldn't find anything else and now it's missing_ **

Shit.

_Do you think he took it out of evidence?_

**_i honestly don't know, it was RIGHT behind me and then i turned around and it was gone!_ **

_Weird_

**_it's like someone could teleport or time travel or something_ **

_Or maybe you're just watching too many sci-fi movies?_

**_no such thing, decker!!!_ **

The conversation cheers her up, and she turns back to her research. Her phone buzzes again.

**_or is it morningstar now_ **

_it's still decker._

**_DID HE TAKE YOUR NAME THAT'S SWEET_ **

_No we just both kept our names_

**_EQUALITY i love it. besides i guess it wouldn't be good for his role if he changed his name_ **

_you realize his name actually is lucifer, right? like legally?_

**_yeah but that's just because his dad is probably crazyyy religious. i wonder if he's gotten the devil role yet though_ **

The conversation is fun, technically, but she feels like she's missing something again. Something important. She'd ask Lucifer about it, but she can't even ask Lucifer about the kiss without chickening out, let alone something more serious.

**_oo did you go back to hanging out with lucifer?_ **

**_tell him i say hi!!!_ **

**_or don't actually i don't wanna ruin your moment <3 <3_ **

**_i DO expect details when you get back though!_ **

**_lucifer wouldn't tell me anything he's being so sweet but a girl NEEDS her gossip_ **

_Ella._

**_SORRY_ **

Lucifer comes home a couple hours later. He looks tired. Chloe hasn't gone to therapy after one extremely bad session after her dad died, but she's pretty sure that's a good sign. Maybe?

"Hey," she says. "You okay?"

"Fine," he says. "Have you found anything new?"

"Nothing conclusive, but a lot of good places to start," she says, turning her computer around to show him. He leans down to look, and she has to look away from his neck again. God.

"We've got a busy rest of the week planned, it seems," Lucifer says, still mild and disaffected. It feels wrong, somehow, but she doesn't want to pry. 

"Oh, and Ella texted," she says. "Do you remember that feather from evidence?"

Lucifer stiffens. "The pigeon feather?"

"The whatever-we-couldn't-identify feather," she corrects. "It went missing. Ella's pretty sure Pierce took it, but she's not sure how. It basically just vanished."

"Interesting," he says. "Still, it's only a feather. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Sure," Chloe says for what feels like the hundredth time today.

"I'll make dinner," Lucifer says, and leaves in what she thinks is a hurry. She's missing _something_ , but she has no clue what. Something that ties together Lucifer and Pierce and Lucifer's dad and Eve and--

Fuck, she's in over her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying to keep all the moving pieces in this story together while also remaining in chloe's perspective is a challenge i did not anticipate being as hard as it is. lucifer--inspiring me to write longfics for the first time since 2016


	11. kids are worse than hellspawn

Every morning, they wake up on their own sides of the bed. Chloe would ask Lucifer about it, but that would mean a conversation she _isn't_ ready for, so she doesn't. Instead, they leave early every morning, in a different car, taking pictures of different locations. The scope of the Sinnerman's organization is enormous. How Pierce managed to do it while also managing the horrific amount of paperwork she _knows_ his job entails is a mystery.

They don't find anything concrete, but Chloe has a few interesting pictures of two higher-level members bickering about something. Lucifer tries to find their names while Chloe takes hundreds upon hundreds of photos. At least _one_ of those has to be incriminating.

"Smith there is a fence, I believe," Lucifer says, narrowing his eyes at the computer. "Also, this laptop is atrocious."

"I couldn't exactly afford a great one," Chloe says.

"You could _now_."

Chloe doesn't respond, partially because she doesn't want to, and partially because holy shit, they might have just hit the _jackpot_.

"Lucifer."

"What's mine is--"

"Lucifer, _look_."

He looks.

"Finally."

Pierce himself has shoved his way between the two, Smith the fence flinching back, the woman they can't identify standing her ground, looking at him furiously. Chloe grabs a camera and shoves it into Lucifer's hands without stopping taking photos herself. He doesn't even say something snarky, just starts taking pictures.

Chloe wishes she could read lips from this far. Right now, what they have is _important,_ sure, but nothing Pierce couldn't get his way out of, and he knows where her daughter lives. The sound of shutters drowns that thought out before it can make her really freak out and understand the magnitude of what they're trying to do.

Pierce does eventually go back into the place, and Chloe puts the camera down.

"Finally," Lucifer repeats. "Do you think this will be enough?"

"No," Chloe says. "We need more evidence."

"What about what Charlotte was collecting?"

Chloe freezes.

"What...did you just say?"

"The evidence Charlotte was collecting?"

Chloe puts her head against the steering wheel, being careful not to accidentally honk the horn. "What evidence?"

"On Pierce's organization."

"You didn't think to mention this before?" she asks.

"I assumed she'd told you," Lucifer says. "Amenadiel and I looked over it--it's enough to get him fired, but not enough to put him away for life, and we didn't want to make Charlotte a target without even asking her."

"Okay," Chloe says. "Okay. I'm going to look that over when we're back at the precinct tomorrow."

"I really did think you knew, darling," Lucifer says. She feels like he's been calling her that more often, now, but maybe she's projecting.

"It's okay," she says, even as she feels completely exhausted. "We got more to add to it, at least."

"Including photos _with_ Pierce," Lucifer says proudly, and she's not sure if he's trying to convince himself or her.

* * *

"What would someone coming back from their honeymoon look like?" Chloe asks that night, staring in a mirror. "I mean, it's not like we went to get matching tattoos."

"Jetlagged, probably," Lucifer says. "In my experience, anyway."

"How many people wanted to sleep with you after their honeymoon?" she asks.

"After finding out their husband or wife was disappointing? You'd be surprised."

"Ugh," she says without any real disgust in her voice. Lucifer, she can see, is standing behind her, holding a glass, looking at her. It's not the look from early in their partnership, when he was pursuing her and she was wholly uninterested. (Times change.) It's fond, though, and that warms her a bit.

"Should I go get a 'went to Hawaii and all I got was this stupid shirt' T-shirt?"

"I will _not_ allow that into my home," Lucifer says, affronted. He takes another drink. "If we stay up, it should simulate being tired."

"Sure," Chloe says. "Any particular plans?"

"Not really. We could watch--"

"Lucifer, your relationship to that show is genuinely unhealthy."

"I thought you'd appreciate my passion for crime-solving."

"Forensic analysis does _not_ work how it works on _Bones_."

They make their way to the couch, bickering. Chloe feels light, weightlessly happy, with most of the tension she's been holding onto the past couple days completely gone.

The two of them end up staying up even later than they intend to, and Chloe starts to pass out on the couch, head on Lucifer's shoulder.

"Sorry," she mumbles, not sure what she's apologizing for.

"No need to apologize," he says, and she drifts off.

Chloe feels herself get picked up and starts to wake, panicked, until she realizes it's only Lucifer and immediately relaxes. She's not quite asleep, though, and feels him set her down into their bed. She expects him to drape the blanket over her, expects the weight of the mattress under her shifting when he gets into bed himself.

What she doesn't expect is his arm around her, like it has been since they first started doing this. She relaxes into it, into him.

He isn't quite asleep, and she isn't quite awake, but they lie like that the rest of the night. When they wake up, they're still curled into each other.

* * *

"You look exhausted," Ella says, far too cheerful for the hour of the morning it is.

"Long flight," she says.

"Time zones," Ella says understandingly. "I get it, I have a profiler friend in New York and talking to him is always _rough_ for my sleep schedule. I brought you coffee, though!"

"Ella," Chloe says. "You're my favorite."

Ella beams at her and hands her one of Starbucks' fancier drinks. It's sweeter than Chloe would usually take it, but it helps to perk her up, so she supposes it's doing its job. 

"Anyway," Ella says. "Details."

"I _just_ got back," Chloe says pleadingly.

"Yeah, but you two are like, the slowburn of the _century_ ," Ella enthuses. "I was always rooting for you."

"Except for when you were rooting for me and Pierce," Chloe reminds her, teasing.

Ella's cheerful grin drops into something angry surprisingly quickly. "I didn't know Pierce as well as I thought, clearly."

"Ella--"

"It's okay, though!" Ella says, back to bright just as fast. "I'll let you recover from your sleepless honeymoon." Her eyebrows waggle, and Chloe groans. "But if you don't tell me everything soon, I'm _going_ to make you pay me back by taking you to a con with me."

"We made out in the backseat of a car," Chloe says, mostly to stop the con thing from happening because she's still Penelope Decker's daughter, partially because she really does want to talk about it.

Ella's squeal is loud enough to catch the attention of more than a few passing cops, and Chloe shushes her. This is her _job_.

"You two are so _cute_ ," Ella says. "Come on, tell me more, is that where the--" She gestures to her neck.

"No," Chloe interrupts her. "We are _not_ having this conversation."

"Come on," Ella says, drawing out the n. "Maze and I haven't had a girls night in ages since she made that new friend Eve and Linda's busy with Amenadiel, I need someone to talk to!"

"Eve?" Chloe says, trying not to react.

"Yeah, do you know her?"

"Um--"

She's saved by Lucifer's sudden reappearance. He's holding two coffees and frowning at the one in her hand.

"Ella got me one," she says before he asks a question.

"Then here you are, Miss Lopez," he says, smiling at her.

"You drink your coffee black?" Ella says, making a face at Chloe. "Gross."

Chloe doesn't try to defend herself, saccharine latte in hand. "Did you ever find the feather?"

"No," Ella says, voice low. "I'm _sure_ it's important, but--"

"Pierce," Lucifer says suddenly. "I was _just_ thinking about you."

"Were you now," Pierce says from somewhere behind Chloe. It's not phrased like a question. Ella looks vaguely constipated, Lucifer's grinning in the same way he does at suspects he wants to terrify, and Chloe's just _tired_. "Decker."

"Yes, Lieutenant?" she asks.

"I've got a case for you and your partner."

"Husband," Lucifer interjects, still smiling. 

"Right," Pierce says. "A body was found dumped on the Walk of Fame. Uh, an Alexander Sabath."

Chloe's heart drops. "Sabath?"

"Yeah," Pierce says, looking at her with a frown. "Why? Do you know the name?"

The question is a little more accusatory than Chloe thinks it should be. She feels like someone's dumped a bucket of ice water on her head. _He knows_.

"I wasn't sure if I heard you correctly," she says. It's a weak excuse, and Lucifer's anxious glance over at her isn't helping.

"Get to it," he says, and leaves in a hurry.

"That...doesn't seem good," Ella says. "Look, I'll try and figure out the feather again."

"The bloody feather," Lucifer mutters. Ella and Chloe look over at him. "Well, it's not like Pierce is going to sprout _wings_. I don't see how it's evidence."

It's as poor an excuse as Chloe's was, but she has no clue why. He wants to stop Pierce for Charlotte as badly as she does, she _knows_ that. What is she _missing_?

* * *

Alexander Sabath is the assassin they had pictures of, which are now useless at best and damning for _them_ at worst. Lucifer's less excitable than he usually is at crime scenes. Ella seems to think their mood is because of jetlag, if the knowing smirks she keeps throwing at Chloe are any indication. Chloe would trust Ella with her life (and probably has), but she's not a good enough liar about this.

So she doesn't tell her about the photos. They're practically useless now, anyway.

"Detective," Lucifer says, closer than she'd expected. She doesn't flinch away. "Look."

She follow where he's pointing. There's a gaggle of tourists crowding around taking pictures, which is unsurprising, considering, but--

"Is that the woman from--?"

The woman spots Lucifer's pointing, and bolts. Chloe follows, knowing it's risky, if Pierce is watching, but if this is their chance, she has to take it. Lucifer follows her, like he always does. Ella calls after them, something about a time and a place, but she's not really paying attention.

Whoever they're chasing is fast, faster than Chloe, but Lucifer's faster than both. He manages to get in _front_ of her, somehow, and Chloe's going to add racing to Lucifer's list of unlikely skills. 

"Fuck you," the woman spits at him.

"Sorry, taken," Lucifer says brightly. Chloe sighs.

"Detective Decker, LAPD." She shows the woman her badge as if she hadn't been watching them at a crime scene. "Why were you watching the crime scene?"

The woman's face spasms a bit, but her angry expression doesn't budge. "None of your fucking business."

"We have photos of you interacting with a known fence," Chloe says calmly, and the woman's face pales. "So I really think it is."

"That's--that's not related to this," she says. "I just...I just wanted to make sure it was him."

"Sabath?"

"Alexander," the woman corrects. "He was my brother."

Chloe's brow furrows. "We weren't aware he had a sister."

"Yeah, we tried to keep it secret," the woman says, glancing at Lucifer with a confused expression. He smiles innocently, which would be worrying if they weren't interrogating a suspect. "What with Pierce--"

"What do you know about Pierce?" Chloe asks, cutting her off.

"That he did this," the woman says, angry again. "And when I find him, I'll--"

"If you're trying to take him down, help _us_." The woman looks at Chloe suspiciously. "He's got more resources than you realize."

"And more experience," Lucifer says.

"We're trying to get enough evidence to put him away."

"Jail's too kind," the woman says. "No deal."

"Are you sure?" Lucifer says. "After so long doing whatever he wanted without consequences, rotting away and dying in a cell might be the best possible outcome. For us, of course, not him."

Lucifer's always been persuasive, and Chloe can see the woman considering it. "Fine. But if it goes south, I'm just gonna--"

"I'm a cop, don't finish that sentence."

The woman grins at her. "I'm Diana."

* * *

Diana is, according to Chloe's research on the ride back to the precinct, _not_ an assassin. She probably still would have worked with her, because Pierce is worse, but she'd have hated it. She's a relatively low-level thug, more there for numbers than for actual muscle. Still, Diana promises that she can get them some good information.

"Do you trust her?" Chloe asks Lucifer.

"I trust that she wants to stop Pierce more than she wants to betray us," Lucifer says. "As long as we stay the best way for her to do so, we'll be fine."

Chloe nods. "Right. Let's stop by my desk, then head home."

"We have to pick up Trixie first," Lucifer says.

"Oh, right." Chloe's touched that he remembered, even if it isn't a surprise. "She's growing on you, right?"

"Like a fungus," he says, mildly disgusted. Chloe laughs.

Trixie runs up and hugs Chloe as soon as they pull in front of her school, which is exactly what she needed. She hugs Lucifer, too, and he doesn't push her way _immediately_. 

"Can we get pizza for dinner?"

Lucifer looks at Chloe from the passenger seat, just as excited as her daughter. "No, we can cook at home."

Trixie's pout is completely expected. "Okay."

"How was your day, monkey?"

"It was okay. We made ice cream in plastic bags."

"How is that a useful life skill?" Lucifer says, disbelieving.

"It has to do with temperature," Trixie says, enunciating all the syllables in the last word. It's really cute, and Chloe tries to bite back a fond smile. From what she can see of Lucifer in the corner of her eye, he's had to do the same. "But I don't really get how it happened."

"What did you do exactly?" Lucifer asks.

Another skill to add to the "why does Lucifer know this" list--chemistry. He explains basic chemistry to Trixie on the way to the precinct, and by the time they get there, Chloe's fairly certain her 9-year-old knows more about science than Chloe did after graduating high school. 

"Thanks, Lucifer!" Trixie says enthusiastically.

"No problem," he says, not looking at either her or Chloe.

"We're just gonna stop by my desk and go home, okay?"

"Okay. Can I--"

"You _cannot_ go bother Ella or Maze."

Trixie sighs dramatically. "Fiiiiiiiiine."

She follows them, though she runs over to Dan to talk about her day when they pass him. Chloe gets her files together so she can finish researching at home, the crime scene and Diana and Pierce and Charlotte.

"Decker," Pierce says, walking up. "Why did you run away from the scene earlier?"

"Someone bolted when we looked over the crowd," Chloe says mildly. "Thought it might be a lead."

"Was it?"

Lucifer scoffs. "No."

Pierce raises a brow at Lucifer.

"Yeah, just a paparazzi," Ella adds from behind Pierce. 

"What?"

"I thought I saw a camera," Ella says brightly.

It's hard to argue with the full force of Ella's cheer. "I thought--well, never mind."

"What'd you think?" Chloe asks.

"Might've been a suspect," Pierce says, and _now_ who's making shitty excuses?

"Oh. If only it was that easy, right?"

"If only."

"I'm gonna head out. Trixie's gotta eat," Chloe says with a small smile at him. He looks at her, and she can't decipher the expression in his eyes at all.

"Was that convincing?" Ella whispers when Pierce is out of earshot.

"Yes," Chloe says. "Where did that come from?"

"I can lie if I _need_ to," Ella says with a snort. "I just don't try as hard for dumb stuff."

"Oh," Chloe says, and considers confiding in her about everything.

Before she does, though, Trixie runs back over. Dan doesn't follow her. She kind of misses him, but she understands. If it was Lucifer that was in a coma, she wouldn't want to talk to him or anyone else either. 

"Let's go! I wanna try the ice cream trick again."

"No," both of them say in unison. Ella beams at them.

"Not hellspawn anymore, then?" Chloe asks Lucifer.

"Oh, no, Detective, kids are worse than hellspawn, I guarantee it."

Chloe snorts.

* * *

Dinner's really good. Trixie tries to convince Lucifer to teach her to make a cake, and he protests even as he's grabbing the ingredients.

"I'm gonna go do some research, okay?" Chloe says, because her heart feels like it's about to burst, she's so full of love at the scene of them in front of her.

"Do you need any help?" Lucifer asks. 

"No, you're helping me make chocolate cake," Trixie says, pulling him away from Chloe. He goes, as if he isn't more than twice her size. 

She keeps researching Diana, making sure she didn't just ruin the case against Pierce, but she can hear the sound of them baking and bickering in the other room. 

"Cupcakes are just small cakes," Lucifer argues.

"No," Trixie says, genuinely annoyed. 

Chloe smiles, because she can without having to explain herself.

Trixie runs into the other room, flour _everywhere_ , and Chloe can already hear Lucifer complaining about the cleaning bill. She's bringing out a slice of cake on an incredibly fancy plate with a silver fork. 

"Try it!" Trixie demands. Lucifer makes his way into the room, sleeves rolled up, looking more relaxed than messy (although he does have some flour on his face).

Chloe does. It's fantastic.

"I love it, monkey!"

"All Trixie," Lucifer says.

"Yeah!" Trixie says brightly. "I added a lot of chocolate chips."

Chloe's teeth are tingling, it's so sweet. "Thanks, Trix."

Trixie hugs her, and Chloe shifts her arm so the cake doesn't drop on her laptop. 

* * *

"I think Pierce is suspicious," Chloe whispers after Trixie's gone to sleep, facing Lucifer in the bed.

"Is there anything we can do about that?" 

Chloe sighs. "I don't think so. Unless you know of a way to investigate without looking like it."

Neither of them mention the backseat. "Diana said they do a lot of business at--what was it, that fancy French restaurant."

"Yeah," Chloe says. "It's not like we could get a reservation there."

"I'm sure I could," Lucifer says confidently. "With a plus one."

"We could make it look like a date," Chloe says. "No pictures, but we could listen in."

Lucifer grins a bit, but it's late enough that she can't make out his expression, just the glint of his teeth in the dark.


	12. like some stupid romcom

When this whole thing started, Chloe remembers being panicked that Trixie, staying with them for a night, would find something wildly inappropriate that Chloe would then have to explain. In general, she was worried about this--a new fake life and where her real life would fit in.

It's been easier than she thought. Too easy, even. Lucifer, for all his professed disgust with children, is great with Trixie. Trixie's adored him ever since he did his whole thing to her bully, and while he'd never admit it, Chloe's fairly sure Lucifer's cared about her just as long. Now Trixie spends almost as many nights here as she does at Dan's.

It feels _real_ , is the problem. It isn't. She and Lucifer are partners, trying to solve a crime that they can't go through the normal means for--but remembering that during a movie night or cooking dinner is hard.

Or now. Now is hard too.

Trixie's helping Chloe pick out a dress. Chloe's tried to remind her that they should pick based on "ease of hiding and accessing a gun" and "straps that allow for hidden wires", but Trixie, happily ignoring all of these suggestions, is picking based on prettiness.

"This one's really nice, Mommy," Trixie argues.

"It is, monkey," Chloe agrees. "But it's also not really good for letting me bring something I can use for the investigation."

"You have to look convincing," Trixie says.

Chloe worries, not for the first time, what this entire experience is teaching her daughter. "I can look convincing in one of the other dresses, too."

Trixie sighs dramatically and balls up the (admittedly very nice) dress and throws it deeper in the closet. It's a weird reminder of how far they've come, kind of. They're in their--Lucifer's bedroom. Imagining Trixie here before this would have been an extremely unsettling nightmare. Now it's just part of their life, happily domestic, weirdly easy.

They eventually agree on a long red dress with a long slit up the side that's thankfully modest enough for both the venue of their investigation and the holster Chloe's bringing. She's triple-checking the gun isn't visible in the mirror when Lucifer walks in from the other room.

"Urchin? Detective? Where--oh."

Lucifer fully stops in his tracks. It's _intensely_ gratifying, even if she doesn't really know how to respond.

"You look--"

"Convincing," Trixie interjects.

"Yes. That is what I was going to say."

Chloe meets Lucifer's eyes in the mirror and smiles, small and fond. He smiles back. It's just like when she and Dan were still good, and Trixie would say a word wrong or do something especially cute. They wouldn't talk about it out loud, not wanting to risk making Trixie feel bad about herself, so they'd just smile. They both just _got_ what it meant.

The fact that she's doing it with Lucifer now is weird. Not as surprising as it should be. She's not sure if it's good or not.

"We should go soon," Lucifer says. "The reservation's for 7."

"See you later, monkey," Chloe says, awkwardly leaning down to hug her on heels higher than she's comfortable with. She's no qualms about ripping them off if the night escalates to a chase, but she hopes she doesn't have to. "Maze is coming over to watch you soon, okay?"

"I know, mom," Trixie groans, but hugs back just as tightly as she always does.

Lucifer, as always, looks fantastic in an expensive suit. It's one of the rare occasions where he won't be absurdly over-dressed for the place. Even as it stands, they're pushing it a little; the dress would be better for a ball, but Trixie had loved it, and Chloe wanted to know she could protect herself and Lucifer if things went south. 

"You do look wonderful, Detective," Lucifer says in a low voice once they make it to the elevator. 

"So do you," she says, willing herself not to get flustered.

"I always do," he says. She rolls her eyes.

The place is one of the nicer ones she's dined at, which is saying something for a former actress in LA. The hostess doesn't have a hair out of place, even though they're a few hours into service.

"Our reservation should be at the table there in the back. My wife and I--" (Chloe tries not to enjoy how the hostess' smile drops a bit) "--are quite particular."

Lucifer leads Chloe to the table they'd already chosen as the best for overhearing others without making themselves obvious. She has a small mic that she hides under the table, using her clutch to conceal the wire. The real issue will be making sure they don't react if one of them says something important.

"They're supposed to be here at 7:30, right?" Chloe asks Lucifer.

He nods. "Plenty of time to look over the menu." The menu doesn't list prices, which says volumes. Lucifer takes one look at Chloe and says, "I'll pay, of course."

"I can't ask you to do that," she says, though she's not sure why.

"It really is no object," he reassures her. "Besides, what sort of partner would I be if I couldn't treat you to something every now and then?"

There's no one around to convince yet, except maybe the hostess, who's still throwing Lucifer glances from across the room. He hasn't looked over once. Not that Chloe's worried about him--if Lucifer's anything, he's a man of his word--but it's nice. 

"Alright," Chloe says, and Lucifer blinks a bit in surprise, as if he'd expected her to fight him on it awhile longer. 

"I thought you didn't like when I bought you things," Lucifer asks, looking over the wine list for just a second before making a decision. Chloe would normally want more of a say, but wine from a box tastes the same as the expensive wines Lucifer favors to her, so. "Red or white?"

"I don't mind," Chloe says. "Whatever goes good with this duck."

The waiter comes over as soon as they're ready to over, though Chloe's not sure if Lucifer surreptitiously waved him over or if the place is just that nice. She's hoping the former--serving is rough enough without needing to be _that_ on top of things.

"It's good, thank you," Chloe says politely after trying the wine.

"You really can't tell the difference between that and something you'd buy from a Circle K, can you?" Lucifer asks as soon as the waiter is out of earshot.

"Not a bit," Chloe says brightly. "Cheers."

Lucifer laughs. It doesn't feel like their lunch outings or even the other times they've investigated. It just feels...like a date. Like a first date, even, new and exciting even if she knows Lucifer better than almost anyone, and he knows her the same. 

"It feels like I should be asking about you," Chloe says.

She's worried for a second she'll have to explain herself, but he just smiles at her again, more open than he usually is. "I'm afraid you already know everything all the typical 'date' questions would get you."

"How would you know typical date questions?" she teases.

"Touche," he says, and takes another drink of wine. She carefully doesn't watch his throat bob in the low light. There's a candle at their table, for fuck's sake. "I haven't done this, really."

"To be fair, I don't think many people have," she says, not looking over when the people they're actually investigating sit. She shifts a bit in her seat to tilt the mic towards them, her feet brushing his. Neither of them pull away. "But me either. For dating in general, I mean."

"You haven't?" Lucifer asks. His gaze is a little sharper, more intense. 

"No," Chloe says. "I was always just looking for...commitment, you know? Especially after Dan and I split up. Casually dating with a kid isn't really easy."

She's trying to focus on their conversation, but the man closer to them says _Pierce_ and she has to focus just on keeping her face neutral. Lucifer, not facing either of the possible criminals, grins excitedly at her instead and picks up the conversational slack.

"You have commitment now," he says. He doesn't say it like a joke. Lucifer twists his ring around his finger, not the one he's always had but the small silver one she'd gotten him back when this scheme first started. She's wearing the much nicer ring he'd gotten her, too, and she reaches over the table, puts her hand over his.

He doesn't freeze completely, but he stops talking, staring down at their hands. Chloe's initial urge is to apologize or to laugh it off, but instead, he just flips his hand over so their fingers interlace.

"You're surprisingly sweet, you know that?" she says. There's no one to perform for now, no reason to lie, but part of her still can't quite ask him if this is real or if this is part of the ruse. She's not even sure if she knows the answer, let alone if he does.

"Don't tell anyone," he jokes. "I have an image to maintain, after all."

Chloe snorts.

The conversation at the other table dies down a bit, and their food arrives. Chloe reluctantly lets go of Lucifer's hand to eat. The food is good enough that she doesn't mind for too long, though, and they small talk about the food, about Lux, about the not-Pierce-related cases they've solved recently.

When the time comes to order coffee and dessert or leave, the men at the other table lean towards each other. The setting makes it seem romantic, but Lucifer and Chloe exchange a glance. She leans towards him, ostensibly to say something romantic, mostly so she can listen in better.

"Pierce is worried about something big, recently," the man closer to them says. The man a little further away, tall and with a fair amount of scars, says something Chloe can't quite make out, but hopefully the mic can. "I don't know. It's got something to do with him picking the empire back up again, I know that much."

Chloe doesn't pump her fist in the air, but it's a close thing. That's the closest thing to actual _proof_ they have of Pierce actually running the Sinnerman's empire. They've had enough to prove he's _involved_ for ages, especially with Charlotte's evidence, but this--it's not enough to completely nail him, but it's a start.

The scarred man looks at her, suddenly, and Chloe's relieved she's not looking at him directly, mostly looking at Lucifer even if her attention's elsewhere. It's easy enough to pull Lucifer in for a chaste kiss and lean back into her seat, as if that's all she needed.

When she risks a glance back at the two men, they're ignoring them entirely.

The chocolate cake is good, though both her and Lucifer save most of it for Trixie. Lucifer drinks a coffee bitter enough that Chloe can almost taste it from across the table, which is insane for the hour.

"I've never understood ordering coffee with dessert," Chloe says, taking off her heels once they climb into the car. Fuck, her feet are killing her, and she was mostly just sitting down.

"Most people don't go to bed as soon as they're done with dinner, darling," Lucifer says distractedly, pulling out of the lot.

"Most people don't have a nine-year-old," Chloe mutters. 

The drive back to Lux takes less time than it should, which is for the norm with Lucifer driving. They stop in front of the elevator.

"Part of me doesn't really want to go upstairs," she admits.

"The night's still young," Lucifer says, as energetic as ever. "Care for a drink?"

She has work in the morning, and she has to find time to sort through the mic's audio, too, but finds herself saying yes. It's nice having an entire nightclub to themselves, which they do more and more often since Lucifer doesn't open the place when Trixie's with them. It's a small thing, especially since Trixie doesn't usually come down when Lux would be open anyway, but she appreciates it.

Lucifer grabs something off the top-shelf for them, because of course he does. He takes off his suit jacket and rolls up his sleeves to make some fancy cocktail Chloe doesn't know the name of, and she appreciates the view.

"I didn't know you knew how to mix drinks," she says. "I'm not surprised, but still. Why don't you bartend?"

"I prefer to be in the crowd," he says. "Or performing." Lucifer gestures to the piano, focus still on the glasses in front of him. 

"Piano's not the most common choice for a club," she says. 

"I'm not the most common man," Lucifer says, looking up at her with a smirk. It doesn't make her heart skip or anything, and she smiles back at him just like she would before their partnership changed.

He hands her the drink, which is perfect, unsurprisingly. Even though she watched him make it, Chloe doesn't have any clue what's in it. It's sweet enough that she's a little worried about how quickly it'll get her drunk. 

"You'll barely even have a hangover," Lucifer says, reading the look on her face.

"Good," Chloe says. "I have to wake up early, see if we caught what we needed to on the mic."

"I'll help," Lucifer says.

"You say that now," Chloe says. "But in the morning, you're going to roll over and fall back asleep as soon as I get out of bed."

Lucifer makes a vaguely offended noise, but doesn't actually refute what she says. 

This feels like a date. The whole night has, really, but now that she isn't also focused on positioning the mic, hiding her gun (still holstered under her dress), or keeping her face neutral, there's nothing to distract her from any of it. From the oddly open look on Lucifer's face, the way they're leaning into each other, even the way she just doesn't want the night to end anytime soon. 

Eventually, though, the night's late enough that she's worried about sleeping through her alarm. Lucifer, seemingly just as reluctant for the night to end, walks with her to the elevator.

"I had a great time tonight," Chloe says, trying to be dramatic enough that it's a joke, kind of. It doesn't really sound like one, though, and she genuinely did.

"I did, too," Lucifer says, elevator doors closing in front of them.

Chloe's not sure what drives her to do it. There's no one around, no one to convince or distract, but it feels like some stupid romcom, like one of the moments they've had in the past--on the beach, on that balcony, their wedding.

So it feels natural to reach up and pull his face down to hers.

Lucifer completely freezes for a second, but reacts before she has an opportunity to _completely_ panic. It's not chaste, but it's not heated, either, just comfortable, slow, almost languorous. By the time the elevator clicks open, they've pulled apart.

Chloe normally can't bring herself to look at Lucifer in these moments, but now she finds it a little difficult to tear her gaze away. He's smiling at her like she's the most amazing person she's ever seen, and she's pretty sure she looks just as lovestruck.

That word's what manages to get her to clear her throat, whisper "we should get some sleep". They get into pajamas, Chloe finally taking the holster off and storing her gun, and the two head to bed. She's fully awake when she pulls Lucifer closer to her, her face against his shoulderblades.

The long, low breath he lets out, the way the tension drains out of his shoulders, sticks with her even as she falls asleep.

* * *

Lucifer, as she'd predicted, mumbles something and doesn't get out of bed when she shuts off her alarm to start working with the audio. The mic picks up what they need, but also her and Lucifer's entire conversation.

"What's going on, mom?" Trixie asks once she wakes up, hair a mess with glitter in it somehow.

"Just listening to some stuff," Chloe says, pulling out one headphone so she can hear her daughter better. "How was hanging out with Maze?" 

"It was good," Trixie says, interrupting herself with a huge yawn. "We practiced some moves and watched Frozen."

Chloe, who's pretty sure Maze's feelings towards Frozen can best be described as _viscerally hateful,_ makes a mental note to take her out for apology drinks sometime soon. "That sounds fun!"

"It's good to hang out with her again," Trixie says. "I'm glad she's not mad at us anymore."

"Me too, monkey," Chloe says, pulling her daughter into a one-armed sidehug.

"How was your dinner?" Trixie says knowingly. "Maze said you and Lucifer probably had a good time."

Chloe starts to think apology drinks are no longer necessary. "The food was _very_ good. We brought you some chocolate cake. You can have it after school."

Trixie tries to convince her that cake for breakfast is a thing, and Chloe almost absent-mindedly sends the audio to a background drive. 

"You know, Lucifer seems pretty tired," Chloe says after Trixie's fourth attempt at cajoling fails. "Why don't we make him breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Trixie says, excited but not loud enough to wake Lucifer.

Chloe's cooking skills are relatively basic, and Trixie's nine, so they stick with eggs and bacon. Fancy, organic eggs and bacon, because it's Lucifer's apartment, and everything here is expensive, but still.

Trixie begs to be the one to bring it to Lucifer, which Chloe happily allows, following her to the bedroom. 

"Lucifer," Trixie whispers. "Lucifer."

"Mm?" he mumbles, lifting his head up from the pillow. The confusion on his face vanishes almost as soon as he sees Trixie. "You...brought me breakfast?"

"We made it!" Trixie says, handing him the plate with enough enthusiasm that a bit of egg goes flying. Chloe's about to apologize when Lucifer smiles, wide and open, at Trixie. It makes him look--like an adoring dad. Which he is, essentially.

Chloe's heart could _burst_.

"Come on then, urchin," Lucifer says, pulling her up to sit with him. "Let's eat."

Chloe grabs her food from the other room before joining them. Trixie regales them both with what she's doing in school, how she's wowing her teacher with her science knowledge, the books she's reading. Lucifer follows along, remembering some things from Trixie's other stories that Chloe doesn't. Lucifer preens when Trixie talks about how much he helped her in science class.

"C'mon, your dad's picking you up for school soon," Chloe reminds her daughter when she shows no signs of stopping halfway through a question about the stars. "Go get dressed." Trixie gives them both a hug before she runs over to where she keeps her things.

"She adores you, you know," Chloe reminds Lucifer.

"Yes, well," he says, a little awkward, still. "She's not the worst, I suppose."

Chloe snorts. He's not convincing, but he's not really trying to be, so she won't call him on it. "We have to get ready for work, too."

"Murderers never cease," Lucifer says, in agreement, and the two start their day.

* * *

Chloe's phone died during the night, as it usually does. When they get to the car and she plugs it in, she's alarmed to see several notifications.

**_chloe i really can't find it anywhere i'm freaking out!_ **

**_the feather is missing and i NEED to find it_ **

**_it's the key i KNOW it is_ **

**_do you know where it is?? can you and lucifer help me look when you get here?_ **

**_do you think i could hire maze??_ **

"Ella's really worried about the feather," Chloe tells Lucifer.

He doesn't respond, and when she glances over, he looks more anxious than she'd anticipated. 

"Lucifer?"

"I may have an idea about where it's gone," he says, which is the last thing she'd expected.

"...okay," she says. "Can we get it back?"

"I don't know that we should," Lucifer says. He looks completely uncomfortable, and is actually keeping his eyes on the road. Other than drives to the hospital, she can't remember him so focused behind the wheel. "It's not the key to the case, though, I know that much."

"I didn't think it was either," Chloe says. "Why do you think Ella thinks it is?"

Lucifer doesn't respond at all.

_Ella we're on our way to the station now_

_Are you okay?_

**_no i need to find it_ **

There's something Chloe's missing. Something Lucifer knows, apparently. "Lucifer--"

"Do you remember," he says, interrupting her. "When I called you after leaving the hospital?"

"When you told me you'd tell me everything," Chloe says. "I remember."

"I trust you, Chloe," he says, and shit, he's using her actual name. "But this--it could change everything. And I don't know if it's for the better. I'm the bloody Devil, after all."

"No, you're not," she says. "Not to me."

Lucifer laughs, bitter and upset. Not exactly the response she was looking for. "I'm sure if you knew everything, you'd feel otherwise."

"I know you," Chloe says. "Whatever you're not telling me, I know you, and you're not gonna scare me away."

He sighs. "I hope that's true, Detective." 

It doesn't escape her notice that he lets the conversation die without actually telling her anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in between posting this and the last chapter, i read i think every lucifer fic from wollfgang. i don't THINK i pulled anything from these works, but i could easily be remembering something they've written as part of the show, so credit where credit is due! if you like deckerstar their fics are INCREDIBLE and i cannot recommend them enough. a softer beginning is my personal favorite.
> 
> also! a quick thank you to everyone who's commented on this fic. i know the breaks i take from this fic are pretty long, but the comments are always so kind and supportive. that...hasn't been the case for some other fandoms i've written for. y'all are incredible and i appreciate every one of you!!!


	13. missed connections

"You need to talk to Ella," Pierce says to Lucifer as soon as they get into the precinct.

"...why," Lucifer asks, and Chloe's not sure if he's asking _what's wrong with Ella_ or _why are you asking_ me _to do something about it_ , but either way, fair question.

"Where is it?" Ella yells, actually yells, from the lab, and they hear something breaking.

"Oh," Lucifer says. "That."

"Ella?" Chloe calls. "Everything okay?"

Ella leaves the lab. Her eyes are bloodshot and she looks like she fell asleep on one of the desks waiting for results again. "Chloe! Chloe, thank God you're here, I need your help."

"With...the feather?" 

Lucifer mutters something in a language she doesn't recognize.

"Yes!" Ella's hands go to her head, gripping her hair hard enough that it looks almost painful. It's all very un-Ella. "There's just so much, and I know this is the key, I just have to find it--"

"Deal with this," Pierce orders Lucifer, and heads back to his office.

Chloe can't even find it in her to get pissed at him on principle, now that Lucifer's admitted he does know something about the feather. "Is there something we can do?"

"I hope so," Lucifer says. "Miss Lopez?"

"Lucifer!" Ella says with a fraction of her regular cheer. "Good to see you, buddy, come help me look."

Ella bodily drags him away towards the lab. Chloe follows, bewildered. The place is a mess, evidence all piled into one corner, still bagged. Equipment's been overturned, there's some unidentifiable liquid pooled on the floor with some broken glass mixed in, and Ella's jacket is hanging from part of the ceiling, somehow. 

"Ella, how long has it been since you slept?" Chloe asks.

"Don't know, doesn't matter," Ella says. "Couple days, maybe?"

"Go home, Miss Lopez," Lucifer says. Ella starts to protest, but Lucifer adds, "The Detective and I will look through the lab. I promise."

"That's not a bluff, right?" Ella mutters, but she's visibly relaxed. "You'll call me if you find it? I mean, ASAP?"

"Yes, Ella," Chloe says. "C'mon, I'll call you an Uber."

"I'm friends with one of the unis whose shift ends soon," Ella says with a huge yawn. "I'll hitch a ride with them."

After asking about the feather a few more times, Ella leaves, and Chloe turns to Lucifer. "That was weird."

"Was it?" Lucifer says, a careful non-answer. He starts to put the equipment back. 

Chloe grabs a broom to sweep up the glass. "I don't suppose you'll just tell me what's up with the feather."

Lucifer makes a frustrated noise, looking at her with unsurprising intensity. "I--like I said, it could change a lot about our partnership."

"So could--"

Dan knocks on the glass panel in the door, interrupting them. Chloe could throw something, but Ella's taken care of that already. "Chloe?"

"Yeah, Dan?" Chloe asks. Lucifer's looking at anything but her.

Dan opens the door. "I heard--oh, damn, Ella really messed this place up."

"Yeah," Chloe agrees. "So what's going on?"

"I wanted to check in about that case you're working," Dan says. The expression on his face is baffling.

"Do you mean--" She glances up to Pierce's office.

"Yeah, that. What did you--"

She shushes him and pulls him in. "Honestly, Dan, how the hell did you manage to hide Palmetto from me, you're a terrible liar."

"Uh," Dan says. "So...what's going on with that?"

"We have a few leads," Chloe says, and fills him in. The sound of them cleaning should mask what they're saying, assuming Pierce has bugs everywhere, which seems less ridiculous than it should given what she knows about the scope of the Sinnerman's empire right now. 

Lucifer's phone rings, and he leaves to answer it without so much as a look at Chloe or Dan.

"So how's that going?" Dan says, somehow managing to sound even less enthused than he did when Chloe admitted they didn't have enough to put Pierce away yet.

"It's...going? Yeah, it's going." 

"Trixie knows more about science than her teacher now, at least," Dan says. "But I'll be glad when this is all over."

"Right," she says, which isn't agreement.

The truth is, Chloe has no clue what she's going to do with herself once they catch Pierce. On one hand, she'll have her free time back to do things other than comb through photos and footage and conspiracy theory websites, which is nice. But she doesn't want to go back to sleeping alone. Especially not in her apartment. If all else fails, she's still making Lucifer buy her a better mattress, she's spoiled now.

"...Chloe."

"Yeah!" Chloe says, snapping back to attention. "I'm here, what's going on?" 

"Wow," Dan says, one eyebrow raised. "You got, like, nothing I said, huh?"

"Shut up," Chloe says, face warm.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen this movie," Dan says, and Chloe's pretty sure she could kick his ass, actually. "It was pretty bad."

"I wish I could give you our divorce papers again," Chloe says, and Dan laughs. Lucifer looks over at them through the window with a confused expression. It only makes Dan laugh harder, and now Chloe's grinning a bit involuntarily. 

"If I find that movie--"

"--come on," Chloe groans, face in her hands.

"I'll wait to send it to you until after this is all over," Dan says.

"Thanks," Chloe mumbles, still facepalming. "You're in a good mood."

"The doctors say Charlotte might wake up soon," Dan says, smiling ear-to-ear. 

"Dan! That's amazing!" Chloe pulls him into a quick hug. Lucifer takes this moment to finish his call and walk back in.

"What's this all about?" Lucifer asks.

"Charlotte might wake up soon," she says. Dan pulls away from the hug and heads out, ignoring Lucifer entirely. "Uh, who called?"

"Amenadiel," he says. "Nothing you'd think is important. Anyway, we should keep cleaning."

"You won't sit and do paperwork but you'll clean?"

"I gave Miss Lopez my word," he explains, and Chloe can't argue with that.

They don't find the feather. She's not surprised. It takes them a couple hours to actually finish cleaning up the mess, especially once all the big pieces of glass and chemical stains are out of the way, because Lucifer gets antsy.

"Lucifer, go wait at my desk," she says eventually when he knocks over what she's using to wipe the counter. After Trixie's crafting phase, she knows it's better safe than sorry with glass. 

He goes with a small, almost-apologetic smile. Through the window, she sees Pierce walk up to him and start talking. The conversation looks angry. Chloe trusts Lucifer not to give away anything important, but wishes that she knew what they were talking about. It seems--not relevant to the case, but to them, somehow. Something that matters to their partnership.

Maybe she's projecting. Probably she's projecting, even. She should focus on cleaning.

And yet.

Lucifer says something, and Pierce nods, expression inscrutable. Maybe satisfied. Lucifer looks annoyed, but given who he's talking to, that could mean anything. When Pierce does leave to go back to his office, Lucifer doesn't do anything immediately, just stands there silently radiating anger. He does eventually sit at her desk, texting rapid-fire on his phone.

Chloe gives him some time to cool down, finishes up cleaning the lab so that Ella can get right back to work when whatever's up with her and that feather. About ten minutes later, she heads to her desk.

"Hey."

"Hello, Detective," Lucifer says, not looking up from his phone. She glances at the screen--he's texting Amenadiel and Maze and--Linda, for some reason. "Are there any new cases today?"

"Oh, uh, not that I know of--"

"Lovely. I need to go talk to my brother, I'll see you tonight." He leaves abruptly, giving her a quick goodbye kiss.

"Bye?" she says, confused. Every time she thinks she understands Lucifer, honestly. 

Much as Chloe likes to be actually out solving cases, she appreciates the opportunity to catch up on her paperwork. Since realizing Pierce is basically Moriarty, her free time's gone towards that and that alone, so her backlog is worse than it's been her entire time on the force.

"Decker," Pierce calls from upstairs.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" she asks, looking up from her computer.

"Come here for a second."

Chloe tries not to show her nervousness on her face, but from the sympathetic look one of the other cops shoots her on her way upstairs, it's not working. "Lieutenant."

"I just wanted to check in with you. I know Charlotte getting shot hit you hard."

The worry on his face is barely there and all the more convincing because of it. "Uh, not great, you know. I wish we had any leads."

"Not every case is solvable," Pierce says, weirdly understanding. Except not weirdly, because he's the shooter trying to convince her there's no need to investigate the one lead they do have which is a feather. "All we can hope is that our lawyer."

"Yeah," Chloe says. "Dan thinks she might wake up soon."

If Pierce thinks anything about that, she can't tell from his expression. She can only barely make out that his smile at the news is insincere. "Glad to hear it. That's all, Chloe."

"Right. See you, Marcus."

It's the first time she's called him that in awhile, so used to professionalism here and calling him Pierce in private. But she knew him as Marcus for a lot longer.

His face spasms a bit, but he doesn't respond other than that, going back to work. She's glad, because she doesn't really want to have that conversation. 

Chloe heads back to her paperwork, annoyed at how much more difficult it is to focus now. She should be over Pierce. She is over Pierce. Pierce is a criminal who shot her friend. But still.

She finds herself looking through some of the photos she has on her work computer, mostly just official work photos. There's Ella and the stripper she'd hired for Chloe's birthday, Lucifer arm-wrestling increasingly buff cops surrounded by other cops betting on them, and one of a kid she's pretty sure is Pierce. Maybe it was his brother.

She looks at the photo of this kid, beaming at the camera, being hugged by someone whose face is off-screen.

Wait. Hang on.

The person hugging the kid has a mark right where Pierce's tattoo is. She double-checks how old this photo is, but it's decades old--

But it's the same spot. The same round, raised mark that Chloe had just assumed was an injury Pierce was covering up. She never wanted to pry, which, in hindsight, hadn't been a good sign for their relationship. Then again, maybe that's just the people in her life, she thinks. Dan's corruption and lying about it, Pierce being the Sinnerman, Lucifer's whole shtick.

Chloe exits out of the photos. She's not going to get anything done today, her head's swirling with so many thoughts, confusing and uncomfortable. 

Pierce is older than he said he was. Like, a lot older. Old enough that it's not just weird, but completely _impossible_. It makes the Sinnerman empire make a lot more sense, but everything else? Called into question. Lucifer and Pierce's weird history makes more sense, too, but that makes her wonder how old Lucifer is, and if _he's_ to be believed, that's centuries--

Her phone beeps, a welcome distraction. It's Ella with...a weird text.

**_do you trust lucifer?_ **

_Of course I do_

_Why?_

Ella doesn't text her back until she's finished her lunch, a disappointing variety of things from the vending machine. She'd expected to eat with Lucifer.

**_he told me_ **

_What do you mean?_

A few minutes pass.

**_that the wedding was fake_ **

_Ella it's not that we don't trust you_

**_no i don't care_ **

That, more than anything else today, makes her worry about her friend. Ella's the most caring person she knows, both for people and for life in general, and for her to _not_ care about something...it's new, and not in a good way.

**_i mean not about that!_ **

**_like i get why you did it_ **

**_how MUCH do you trust lucifer_ **

She thinks back to the photo, to the feather, to whatever Lucifer doesn't want to tell her because it could change their partnership.

_100%. I'd trust him with my life_

_I have, even_

**_okay_ **

**_i trust your judgment_ **

**_also holy shit you two are_ **

**_SO_ **

**_STUPID_ **

**_YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THOSE VOWS WERE FAKE DECKER??_ **

Chloe snorts. There's the Ella she knows.

**_forget pecker deckerstar is the REAL slowburn_ **

_Okay stop I'm literally at work right now still_

_Are you feeling better, by the way?_

**_um! i'm still weird! but i'll be good_ **

**_just got some stuff figured out_ **

She doesn't elaborate. From anyone else, it'd feel like another secret being kept from her, but Ella's basically family. Plus, she's a really bad liar, so whatever she's hiding, Chloe'll find out soon enough, assuming Ella doesn't outright tell her after a drink the next Tribe night. 

Ella cheers her up enough to get back to paperwork, making a significant dent in her future workload. Chloe feels kinda bad, honestly. Sure, it's just paperwork, but the system's bad enough without something else to slow it down.

Lucifer doesn't end up picking her up, which she isn't surprised by, given how weird he was acting, and also because Ella sent her a selfie of her, Lucifer, and Maze absolutely _shitfaced_ at a bar just an hour ago. Dan offers her a ride home, and they pick up Trixie on the way.

It's not like it used to be, when she and Dan were still together, but it's nice, comfortable. Trixie's thrilled to see her dad, and tells him all about her day. Her teacher's doing a unit on volcanoes, or something, but Trixie can't stop talking about the layers of the earth, trying to figure out how if there's lava under the crust, land isn't just floating around all the time. 

"Gravity, right?" Dan says, glancing over at Chloe in the passenger seat to make sure. Chloe shrugs. She didn't go to high school. 

"I'll ask Lucifer," Trixie says.

Dan's face shifts a bit. "Speaking of Lucifer, your mom and I were talking about a movie earlier--"

"Dan!"

* * *

She and Trixie hang out at the penthouse for about an hour before Lucifer shows up. He's not drunk at all anymore--she thought Ella's photo was recent, but apparently not. 

"Apologies about earlier, Detective," Lucifer says, joining them right away. "I was worried about Miss Lopez."

"Me too," Chloe admits. "I think she's doing better, though."

"She is," Lucifer says.

"Wanna...share why?"

"Not particularly," Lucifer says cheerfully.

Chloe frowns, about to pry when her phone rings again.

"Dan? Did I leave something in your car?" 

"No, I--" Chloe can hear the whistling of the wind from him driving faster than he should. "Chloe, Charlotte's okay."

"What?" she says, putting her phone on speaker.

"Charlotte woke up."


	14. near-death experience, take two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FORGOT TO SAY LAST TIME thanks for sticking to the halfway point! you're all awesome!!

Lucifer drives a little slower with Trixie in the car. Definitely still over the speed limit, but Trixie's buckled in, so Chloe's ignoring it. She wants to see Charlotte, too. Part of it is that her friend was in a coma and now she's better, but--

If Charlotte _saw_ Pierce shoot her, if she's willing to testify...it might not be enough to guarantee Pierce goes behind bars forever, but it'd be a start. Not to mention, she's a damn fine lawyer, they could use that. 

She didn't get to be where she is in the force by _not_ being a pragmatist. Still, she's mostly just happy that Charlotte's okay. It was kind of touch-and-go for awhile, there.

"I believe I owe Maze now," Lucifer says.

"Please tell me you didn't bet on whether Charlotte was going to wake up," Chloe says.

"Maze made a bet," Lucifer says. "I merely disagreed with her."

"That's awful," she says. "Charlotte's our friend!"

"Who got shot in the stomach by a criminal mastermind," Lucifer points out with a quick glance at Trixie to make sure the conversation isn't too upsetting to her. Trixie, who's used to it, isn't even paying attention.

"I can't believe you," Chloe says, but she's not too surprised. At least, she's not surprised Maze is behind it. "I didn't know Maze cared about Charlotte."

"Oh, she doesn't," Lucifer says. "Maze just wants to take down Pierce for going after Amenadiel."

"...okay."

One day, Chloe will understand what the hell's going on with Lucifer and his friends and family. That day isn't anytime soon, though. She's still confused about Charlotte being his stepmom, considering she's pretty sure Lucifer's older than she is. Not that surprised though--she grew up in Hollywood, and her opinion of Lucifer's dad had been pretty poor since she'd seen his scars.

Huh. Wait a second. She hasn't seen his scars, recently, and she's definitely been close enough to. She's woken up with her face pressed against where the scars would've been, actually.

Maybe he got surgery to cover them up. She wouldn't blame him. If Chloe's dad had done whatever the hell that was to her, she wouldn't want that reminder, either. What she doesn't understand is why he didn't mention it.

On the list of things she doesn't get about Lucifer, though, it's relatively unimportant, so she resolves to ask him about it after they talk to Charlotte.

They find parking in an improbably good location, and Lucifer only has to smile at the clerk before she's telling them where Charlotte is and also about her dream to own a ferret ranch, one day.

"Can I get a ferret?" Trixie asks once they're in the elevator.

"No," she and Lucifer say in unison. 

When they get to Charlotte's room, Amenadiel is standing by her bedside, and Dan's holding her hand, sitting in the little uncomfortable chair the hospital provided. Charlotte looks exhausted, wearing no makeup for the first time Chloe's ever seen her, but happy. Her smile when she looks at Dan warms Chloe's heart a bit.

"Hey, Charlotte," Chloe says.

"Chloe," Charlotte says, looking away from Dan. "Lucifer. It's good to see you guys. Dan told me you two got married?"

"Technically," Dan corrects, but he doesn't look upset anymore. He doesn't even glance at them as they walk in, eyes only on Charlotte. "We're trying to catch Pierce."

Charlotte's smile drops, and she looks over at Amenadiel quickly. "Did I ever thank you? For saving me?"

"There is no need to thank me," Amenadiel says, shifting uncomfortably. "You saved me. Bringing you to a hospital was only fair."

"I still don't know how you managed to bring her here quickly enough, man, but thank you," Dan says.

Amenadiel clears his throat. "Well."

"How are you feeling, Charlotte?" Lucifer suddenly interjects. Trixie goes to join her dad on the chair, and he hugs her with the arm he's not holding Charlotte's hand with.

"Like I got shot," Charlotte says. Lucifer chuckles. "But I'm alive, so. Better than I could be."

"You were always gonna be fine," Dan says, sounding completely unconvincing. "I promised you waffles, remember?"

"You always make me waffles," Charlotte says, gripping his hand tighter.

Lucifer makes a face, wisely out of Dan's range of vision. Chloe nudges him a bit with her shoulder, though he doesn't really look apologetic. 

"So, Charlotte," Chloe says, moving to sit on the edge of her bed. "What do you remember?"

"I saw Pierce go to shoot Amenadiel," Charlotte says immediately. "So I stepped in front of him."

Chloe lets out a breath of relief. "You saw Pierce. Okay."

"I thought you were already investigating him," Charlotte says, confused, looking between her and Lucifer.

"We were," Lucifer assures her. "But your testimony will be invaluable. As will your legal services, of course."

"No," Charlotte says.

"What, is that against the law or something?" Chloe asks.

"No--well, yes, but that's not the point," Charlotte says, agitated. She shifts to sit up in her bed, wincing. "I'm not going to testify against Pierce."

"You're not?" Amenadiel asks.

"Are you kidding me?" Charlotte half-laughs. "He shot me." Her voice gets a little quieter. "I don't want to die."

"Charlotte--" 

"I still feel guilty, Lucifer," she says. "I try to do better, but there's a lot I have to work through. I don't want to die."

Dan glances back at Chloe, but she's just as confused as he is.

"Daniel," Lucifer says with a tight smile. "Could you and the Detective step out for a minute with your offspring?" 

"Anything you can say to Charlotte, you can say to me," Dan says, instantly defensive.

"You're hardly family, Daniel," Lucifer says mockingly.

Chloe doesn't fail to notice that she's excluded then, too, and tries not to let the fact that that stings show on her face. "C'mon, Trixie."

"Okay," Trixie says, waving to Charlotte, who waves back, albeit weakly. 

"What do you think they're talking about?" Dan asks Chloe in a low voice while Trixie plays some dumb game on Dan's phone. Chloe's not a fan of the hands-off parenting, but she also doesn't want her nine-year-old participating in this conversation, so.

"I have no idea," Chloe says. "I feel like there's a lot I don't understand with them recently."

"Lucifer's not trustworthy," Dan says. "Chloe--"

"Charlotte's part of that conversation, too," Chloe says, not sure why she's defending Lucifer when she's also mad at him.

"Yeah, but she just woke up from a coma," Dan says, smiling a bit despite himself. "I'm so glad she's okay."

"Me too," Chloe says with a smile. "Even if she won't testify."

"Can you blame her?" Dan asks. "I mean, she nearly died, and Pierce wasn't even going after her."

"Yeah, but how many other people has he hurt?" Chloe says, leaning against the wall.

"Don't know," Dan says. "But I'm gonna protect Charlotte."

Chloe looks down at her shoes. "Even if that means stopping trying to catch Pierce?"

"Yeah," Dan says decisively. "And I'm sorry, but I'm going to stick with whatever she picks."

"Okay," Chloe says, because yelling at him in a hospital seems like a bad decision. "We are _not_ done with this conversation, but...okay. For now."

Dan opens his mouth to say something, but Amenadiel opens the door just then. Chloe walks in, Trixie following, to avoid snapping at Dan. 

Charlotte looks drained, but still happy, relieved, somehow. "Sorry, guys. Just...family stuff."

"No worries, Charlotte," Dan says, holding her hand again immediately. Chloe's pretty sure God himself wouldn't be able to drag them apart anytime soon. If he was real, of course. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's great," Charlotte says with a sleepy smile. "Amenadiel and Lucifer just explained some things to me. Dying's not so scary now."

Dan grips her hand tighter. "But not anytime soon."

Charlotte looks at Dan for a second, contemplative, and says, "No. Not anytime soon."

"So you won't testify against Pierce," Lucifer says, more understanding than angry. 

"No," Charlotte says. "You can have the evidence I collected, but that's all. I don't want to see anyone I care about getting hurt."

She doesn't name names, but she's looking right at Dan.

* * *

Chloe's pissed.

Okay, that's not fair. Chloe's upset. She completely understands why Charlotte doesn't want to go up against Pierce, considering Chloe barely wants to, and she didn't even get put into a coma. (And hopefully won't.)

Plus, just the thought of Pierce threatening Trixie is enough for her to consider dropping everything and going about life as normal. The people Pierce hurt is enough for her to get over that, not to mention that she doesn't know if Pierce has it in him. She shouldn't think that, maybe--plenty of people have died under his watch, people with families, and if their contact Diana's to be believed, some of the people working for him are barely out of their childhoods themselves.

But she doesn't think Pierce is a monster, still. An asshole, sure, a terrible person, definitely, but not completely terrible.

She's angry, though--not so much at Charlotte, but at Lucifer.

He won't tell her what they talked about, which is fine, but he also won't tell her why he's so fine with Charlotte taking the best resource they have against Pierce and throwing it out. Or he'll tell her, but not the truth.

"She's been to hell once before," Lucifer says. "I understand why she doesn't want to risk going there again, or risk Daniel going there. Though I really don't think he's worth the anxiety."

"Lucifer, be serious," she says, irritated. "We could get Pierce behind bars for life with her testimony, we'd only need a little more evidence for the department to make a taskforce just for taking out his organization. We wouldn't have to be living this--lie, anymore!"

"Not a lie," Lucifer says, not looking at her where he's mixing a drink for himself at the penthouse bar. "I don't lie, you know that."

"You know what I mean," Chloe says, annoyed. "This--bluff, or whatever."

"Right," Lucifer says, taking a drink. "Well, ask Charlotte. I'm sure she'll tell you what I have."

"That she's afraid to go to hell?" Chloe says with a derisive snort. The thing is, she might ask Charlotte. Even if she uses metaphors, she'll be more blunt than Lucifer could on his best days, and Chloe's so sick of feeling like the only one out.

"Yes!" Lucifer says, loud enough that Trixie shifts in bed. He looks over at her, a hint of regret on his face for a second.

"Okay," Chloe says. "I'm gonna crash on the couch tonight. We can talk about this in the morning after bringing Trixie to school."

"Trixie doesn't have school tomorrow," Lucifer says, still a little angry.

"What?"

"They're filming some Disney show there," he says with a shrug.

Chloe sighs, head on the table. "Fuck."

"It's fine, I'll watch her," Lucifer says.

She can feel her anger start to dissipate against her will. "Are you sure?"

Lucifer shrugs. "She's not the worst."

"And you'll stick to age-appropriate activities?"

Lucifer makes a face. "She was an okay driver."

"She's _nine_."

"She was!"

The argument's light-hearted, though, and while Chloe does still crash on the couch, she doesn't go to sleep angry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapters a bit short, hopefully the fact that its the third one in a week makes up for it!


	15. obligatory step-satan content

Chloe doesn't think her worry is unreasonable. Not entirely. She's angry at Lucifer, sure, but she does trust him. 

Still. He's not always the most responsible with Trixie. Her driving a car is just one of many examples. Hell, she's still not sure what he did to scare her bully that first day they met. She has a sneaking suspicion it's the same thing he does to suspects.

That should not make her feel less anxious about this whole thing. It does.

"Really, Lucifer," Chloe says. "You--"

"I know how to take care of the little urchin, Detective," Lucifer says, though he looks a little out of his element himself. "It's hardly rocket science."

"I think I'd be more comfortable if it was," Chloe mutters. Lucifer smiles at her like it was a compliment. 

"We'll be fine, Mom," Trixie says confidently. 

"You thought driving was fine, too," Chloe tells her daughter.

"I didn't even hit a sign!" Trixie protests.

Chloe briefly considers taking the day off work. Sure, she's behind on paperwork, and she's got to figure out what's going on with Pierce and his tattoo (maybe it's actually something heritable? but it's _exactly_ the same), and she'd really like to check on Ella, but--no, she really can't call in sick today.

"Okay," Chloe says. "Ground rules--"

"If anything happens, call you, no law-breaking, and no letting Trixie use equipment you need a license for," Lucifer says semi-patiently. "You've been over this four times now."

"It's _we've_ been over this, usually."

"I wasn't listening," Lucifer says cheerfully.

"Lucifer--"

"Kidding! Mostly." 

Chloe hugs Trixie goodbye and lets Lucifer walk her to the elevator.

"We still need to talk later," she reminds him, though it's hard to feel as angry as she was yesterday. 

"What, no last-minute reminders about things I know already?" Lucifer says.

"As long as you don't let her behind the wheel _again_ ," Chloe says. "I know you wouldn't do anything too dangerous." She hopes, at least.

Lucifer looks a little surprised, almost flattered. "Of course I wouldn't." Still, the self-aggrandizing doesn't seem as obnoxious as it usually does, if only because he seems to have taken what she said to heart.

* * *

Chloe manages to wait until she gets to the precinct to text how things are going.

**_everything's fine, detective, what do you take me for?_ **

_Someone who would let a nine-year-old drive a car_

**_once_ **

She snorts, pocketing her phone. Much as she'd love to continually check in with Lucifer and make sure he and Trixie are okay, she actually has a ton she needs to do, and that's assuming no extra cases come to her desk.

God, she hopes no extra cases come to her desk. One day without any murders would be awesome.

She isn't late, but she rushes to her desk anyway, feeling a little off-kilter. She's used to arriving with Lucifer, distracted from her early-morning haze by banter and him bringing her coffee. The precinct's coffee machine is ancient and obnoxious, and she's not looking forward to messing with it again.

Thankfully, she doesn't have to.

"Good morning!" Ella says, cheerful as ever, and holding coffee.

Chloe reaches for the coffee and takes a drink before replying. "Ella, you're my favorite."

"I know," Ella says cheerfully. "So how's it going?"

Chloe groans. "I mean, Lucifer's being...Lucifer, so."

Ella's face does something weird. "Well! I mean, maybe you should just talk to him about it. And listen to what he has to say."

Chloe glances around and makes sure no one's nearby. "He told you our marriage was fake, right? I should be able to vent to you now."

"You can!" Ella says. "Always! Just...there's stuff you don't know, maybe!"

Chloe takes another drink of coffee, in case that'll help her understand what the hell's going on. "Like?"

Ella sighs dramatically. "I really, really wish I could tell you. I mean, really, the fact that you _don't_ know? Is stupid! And Lucifer's stupid for not telling you. But it's definitely something _he_ needs to tell you, you know?"

"No," Chloe says. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyway, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine?" Ella says, confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Chloe looks at her, baffled. "Because last week you were freaking out about lost evidence?"

"Oh," Ella says. "Uh, _that_. Well...I think I was just worried about Charlotte. Now that she's okay, I'm less worried about it. What evidence could a feather be, anyway?"

"Okay," Chloe says, understanding nothing. "You're...doing okay, though?"

Ella takes a second to think. "I am. I mean, there's a _lot_ of stuff I have to think about now, like, a _lot_ , but I'm good. And we're good. Even if you're being _ridiculous_ with this whole marriage thing. I mean, _wow,_ Decker."

"Not here!" Chloe says, embarrassed. "Come on, Ella."

"Fine. We _will_ be talking about this later though. With Maze and Linda. Over drinks."

"Sounds good," Chloe says, and it really does. Much as she wants to understand whatever the hell's going on with Lucifer, she can't deny that a night free from thinking about it--and a night where she can whine about how she's feeling with two friends who will offer sympathy and also Maze--sounds like a break she needs desperately. 

"Tribe night!" Ella cheers, loud enough that a few cops look over until they confirm it's just Ella being Ella again. "Anyway, I have a _crazy_ backlog of stuff to work on because I was freaking out over something dumb! Let me know if you need something work-related, but I'm pretty much lab-bound until further notice."

"You love being in the lab, though," Chloe reminds her.

"I really do!" Ella says happily.

"Oh! Before you go, I have a science question."

"Hell yeah, I love science questions, too!"

Ella's cheer is infectious, and Chloe feels awake even though she hasn't even finished her coffee. "Can a birthmark be inherited?"

"Yeah, but not usually," Ella says. "Usually only the ones that come with genetic conditions."

"What about, um, a round, raised birthmark?"

"You mean like a mole?"

"No, like...Pierce's mark," Chloe says.

Ella's bright smile drops. "Um."

"What?"

"Uh, I don't think that's how that mark works," Ella says, suddenly quiet. "Um, I have a _ton_ of work to do, actually, sorry, Chloe!"

Chloe wonders if there's something in LA's water that makes everyone she knows act weird. It's ridiculous, but so is everything going on right now, so it wouldn't surprise her. Still, she has plenty of other work to focus on, and it needs to get done.

Working is a lot less fun without Lucifer distracting her, but she can't deny she gets a lot done. It feels like she finishes half of the paperwork in her backlog by the time her phone goes off.

**_while I'm glad you're not harassing me about the urchin's care_ **

**_I thought you might appreciate an update_ **

Lucifer's sent her a photo of Trixie, apparently dragging Lucifer forward towards something. Chloe can't tell where they are or what they're doing, but Trixie's smiling as wide as Chloe's ever seen her.

_Like I said this morning I know you won't do anything too dangerous_

_Where are you, though?_

**_your spawn wanted to go to the zoo_ **

**_she's been asking me questions about evolution and the animals_ **

_Are you answering them?_

**_naturally_ **

_You're going to make her want to be a scientist at this rate_

_Not that that's a bad thing_

**_I think she still wants to go to space, Detective_ **

With that, another picture--Trixie holding a few packages of freeze-dried ice cream. Labelled astronaut ice cream, though Chloe doubts any of that has ever made its way to space.

**_she won't have all of that at once, I assure you_ **

_It's her day off school, it's okay for her to have fun_

_Just make sure she gets real food at some point_

**_everything here is horribly overpriced, but if you insist_ **

Chloe's about to respond when Pierce clears his throat, right by her desk. She nearly throws her phone up in the air in surprise. 

"You've been on your phone for ages, Decker," Pierce says.

"Sorry," Chloe says, putting her phone back in her pocket. "I'll get back to work."

"How was Charlotte?" Pierce asks.

"Oh," Chloe says. "Uh, fine. She told me she didn't see who shot her." Even if she wants Charlotte to change her mind eventually, there's no point of her putting 

Pierce nods. "Shame. Well, back to work, Decker."

"Of course, Lieutenant."

Chloe goes back to working on paperwork. She can't believe she got caught texting when she was supposed to be working. What is she, in high school again? It's a little harder to get back into the seamless work routine, and it feels like the day drags by even slower than it was. 

By the time her day's over, she can't get back home fast enough.

* * *

"Hey, Mom!" Trixie says, running over and half-tackling her with a hug. "Lucifer and I went to the zoo!"

"Sounds fun!" Chloe says. "What'd you get?"

Trixie proudly shows her a lifesize tiger cub plush. Chloe hasn't been to the zoo in ages, but she's pretty sure the price tag on this thing is triple digits. "We also adopted one!"

Chloe takes a deep breath.

"No," Lucifer says. "Not--there was a conservation program, we didn't take one from the zoo."

Chloe exhales slowly. "Okay. Okay, that's--next time, lead with that, okay, monkey?"

"Sorry, Mom," Trixie says, but she's still practically bouncing with excitement. "Lucifer told me a lot about the animals, too! We left the tour because he knew more than the guide did."

Lucifer beams, pleased with the attention. Chloe smiles back at him.

Trixie tells her all about the animals and evolution and paleontology, for some reason, throughout dinner and until it's time for her to go to sleep. Chloe's not exactly tired, but she heads to the bedroom anyway, Lucifer following.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Lucifer asks. She can only tell he's worried based on the way he won't meet her gaze.

Chloe sighs. "Look...there's a lot you haven't been telling me." Lucifer looks further away. "And I know you haven't lied to me, but you haven't been completely honest, either."

"I want to tell you, Chloe," Lucifer says, looking at her for just a second. "I just--"

"No, you don't--don't justify it, okay?" Chloe says. "If you don't want to tell me, or don't want to tell me _yet_ , or whatever, that's okay. But don't try to justify it by saying it could change everything. I should get to make that decision myself."

"What if you can't? What if it's not up to either of us?" Lucifer asks.

"That's absurd," Chloe says. "This--" She gestures between the two of them. "This is just for us to decide, okay?"

"This," Lucifer says.

Chloe takes a deep breath. "Yeah. Our partnership is just our business, okay? No one else's. So when you tell me, even if you think it'll change everything, that's not for you to decide. It's for both of us."

Lucifer looks at her, a little helplessly. "You don't have any idea, and you'd trust me with that?"

She may have a million questions, ranging from why his scars disappeared to what was going on with the feather to what he told Charlotte to--everything, but she's trusted him for years. She's not about to stop now.

"Yeah," Chloe says. "I trust you, Lucifer."


	16. party girl jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> went back and edited the texts in previous chapters to be a little more understandable, thanks to superlc529 for the suggestion on how to do so! as always, thank you for your comments, y'all rule

"You're going _now_?" Chloe asks, confused.

"Dr. Linda gets worried when I cancel," Lucifer says apologetically.

"You're leaving in the middle of a case about sex toys and cocaine," Chloe says slowly. "For therapy."

"It's important, Detective," Lucifer says. 

"I know, just--wow," Chloe says. 

"Where's your partner?" Ella asks when Chloe walks in. There's a fine dusting of cocaine on everything, though the floor's been swept. "I have a _great_ joke for him."

"He went to therapy," Chloe says, trying to breathe as shallowly as possible. 

"Damn," Ella says sadly. "The murder weapon's--well, see for yourself."

Unsurprisingly, given the shop is full of them, the murder weapon is a strap-on.

"It's probably a good thing Lucifer isn't here," Chloe says after a second of looking over the scene.

"Yeah," Ella says. "Even if cocaine-covered sex toys is his idea of a great Friday night."

Last Friday, she and Lucifer had played Clue with Trixie and looked over what felt like thousands of photos Diana had sent them to see if they could find anything damning. Still, it's not like Ella's _wrong_. And it's also not something she's going to bring up in the middle of a crime scene. "Sure." 

" _Speaking_ of," Ella says brightly. "When are you free? Maze wants to introduce us to someone, it's time for another girls' night."

"Um," Chloe says. "I don't know, I've been kind of busy."

"Sure you have," Ella says, waggling her eyebrows. Chloe can't even call her on it since they're at work. "That's no excuse, though! We made a _blood pact_." Her smile drops. "Huh. I wonder if that means something."

"Yeah, it means Maze is overdramatic and violent," Chloe says with a roll of her eyes.

"Wait--did Lucifer still not _tell you?"_ Ella asks.

Chloe can feel her eye twitch. "No."

"Dumbass," Ella says fondly. "If he doesn't tell you soon, I'm gonna knock some sense into him."

Chloe doesn't comment on the fact that Lucifer has, like, a foot on her and also is unnaturally strong, because frankly, she wouldn't put it past Ella to make it through on sheer determination and a hidden weapon of some kind. She may be bubbly, but the girl gets along with Maze for a reason.

"Anyway," Ella says. "I've got, like, a ton of forensic analysis to do on this cocaine."

"Any ID on the victim before you go?"

"She worked here," Ella says. "Amy Reid, cashier here for a few weeks. Poor kid."

"Yeah," Chloe says, frowning down at her. "I'm gonna check and see if the shop's a front for something, maybe she found out and tried to tell someone."

"It's a lot of wasted product for a warning kill," Ella says thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Chloe says. She wishes Lucifer were here so she could ask him exactly how much he thinks the cocaine here is worth. Sure, she'd have to stop him from trying in full view of all these cops, but his guess would be more accurate than a guess from anyone in Narcotics.

She'd better get a move on before they take the case, too. Sure, they'd be able to find the people moving product, but Chloe cares less about that and more about making sure whoever killed their vic here is brought to justice.

She's got to try, at least.

* * *

Back at the precinct, Chloe reads up on the various gangs and cartels in the area where the body was found. She can always count on her job to remind her how many secret criminal organizations are active in the city she lives in, and she resigns herself to having to work with Narcotics or risk getting her case taken away. This isn't her area of expertise.

It is, however, her partner's. He arrives in the precinct without any of his usual fanfare, oddly quiet.

"Detective," he greets her, and immediately begins looking over the case file. She starts to worry when he doesn't immediately start talking about the murder weapon. 

"How'd therapy go?" she asks.

"Fine," he says. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you, though."

Chloe's torn between anxiety and hope that he'll finally tell her what's going on. "Uh, sure. Just let me finish up here?"

"Of course," he says with a tight smile. "In the meantime, I'll go talk to Miss Lopez about what was found at the scene."

"Do _not_ steal cocaine from the evidence lock-up," she says instantly.

"If you insist," Lucifer says, disappointed. 

Chloe finishes the form with all the diligence required of a detective, though with less detail than she would otherwise. She walks over to the lab, nodding at Dan as she goes. He doesn't notice, texting someone and smiling at his phone like it's the only thing in the world. Probably Charlotte, then. 

"Lucifer?"

"Just a minute, Detective, I'm discussing something with Miss Lopez," Lucifer says. He's smiling wider than he was walking into the precinct, which is just Ella's effect on people. "Now, silicon--"

" _Please_ tell me you're not discussing sex toys at work," Chloe says, exhausted.

"It's work-related!" Lucifer says defensively.

"It actually is," Ella says. "I need to know about different brands."

"It's not often this side of my life is relevant here," Lucifer says. "Can you blame me for sharing my expertise?"

Chloe doesn't say that she could easily blame him for any number of things, which she thinks constitutes incredible willpower on her part. "Fine, just--we can talk whenever you're ready now."

"Oh, forget this, go!" Ella says, shoving Lucifer out of his seat immediately. He catches himself before falling off entirely, but he looks offended, as if she'd just told him she'd kicked his dog or something.

"Are you sure? I've more to--"

"Yeah, dude, Google exists," Ella says. "Go."

Lucifer follows Chloe out.

"Ella's pretty stubborn," Chloe says. "So, uh--"

"We should talk somewhere private," Lucifer says, looking around as though he expects people to be listening in. Then again, considering her (their?) boss, it's not completely unreasonable.

"Sure," Chloe says. "Uh, let's go grab lunch. I'm due for a break anyway." 

They head out, pulling out of the parking lot before Chloe has any idea where they're going. "What's going on?" 

"Dr. Linda pointed out to me that I've been avoiding talking to you," Lucifer says. "About--things that matter." 

"Huh," Chloe says. "Like what?"

Lucifer doesn't answer right away, looking out the window. "Where are we going?"

"You're doing it again," Chloe says. "Also I don't...know. We're just driving, I guess."

"Right," Lucifer says.

There's a few more minutes where neither of them say anything, continuing aimlessly down the road. Chloe's too worried to ask him what's going on, too aware the moment's fragile to joke about this being the longest he's been without saying something, too curious to start heading back to the precinct. 

"The other day," Lucifer starts, quiet enough that she has to focus to hear him clearly. "You kissed me."

Chloe lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "I did."

"Why?"

He sounds genuinely baffled, but not mad. Anger she'd at least know how to deal with. "I wanted to. That's it. Did I--"

"You didn't make me _uncomfortable,_ if that's what you're worried about," Lucifer says, so dismissive of the idea that Chloe lets out a little sigh of relief that she hopes he doesn't notice. "I just--do you remember what we talked about? Back when this--marriage ordeal started?"

"We talked about a lot," Chloe says.

"About worrying what's real," Lucifer says.

"Yes," Chloe says, because she hasn't stopped thinking about that conversation since it happened.

"Was it?" Lucifer asks.

"I--" Chloe stops. "Yes. I mean, I think so."

"That's exactly the problem," Lucifer says. "I don't know that I can be sure."

"Lucifer--"

"Or that you can be," he adds. "I'm not--our history together is complicated, Detective."

"You could say that again," she mutters.

"When--if we decide that we're...well, whatever we are," he says. "I want to be sure."

"I do too," she says. "And...I don't want you to feel like you have to make a decision based on the case, and not based on us."

It hurts to say, but she means it. She's thought constantly (or close to it) about finally making a move after literal years of the will-they-won't-they, but if he was to turn her down now, or worse, _not_ turn her down because whatever they do is so mixed up in this Sinnerman case--

It'd break her heart. And his. She couldn't do that to him.

"Right," Lucifer says. "Glad we're on the same page."

He doesn't sound happy, though, and she definitely doesn't feel _glad_. Chloe has so much more to say, but--what if she _is_ just getting caught up in the case? She was going to marry Pierce, and yeah, maybe she said yes because of Lucifer, and also _no_ because of Lucifer, but still.

Honestly, that's--fine, that's a huge reach. For her.

The last time they were almost _something_ , he ran away and got married in Vegas. And this time, with Pierce--she'll never know what he was _going_ to say.

Besides, for her--this is something worth waiting for.

* * *

They head back to the precinct in an uncomfortable silence, and Chloe ends up grabbing a sad lunch from the vending machine. She's in a shitty mood before Ella tells her that there were _somehow_ no fingerprints from _anything_ in the shop, which is ridiculous.

"On nothing?" Lucifer asks, in her personal space, like he usually is. It doesn't make her hopeful, given the conversation they had earlier, but she looks at him out of the corner of her eye nonetheless. 

"Yeah," Chloe says, trying not to let her bad mood bleed into her voice. "They must've been wearing gloves."

"Even so," Lucifer says, looking over the crime scene photos critically. "That's a truly staggering amount of cocaine. Old fingerprints should have been caught there as well." 

"True," Chloe says. "Maybe a professional cleanup? But that seems like a waste."

"The cocaine is already a waste," Lucifer says. "It's the finest cocaine in the city."

"And how do you know that?" she asks.

Lucifer smiles at her and doesn't answer, which means he stole some from evidence again.

"Great."

Still, he has a point, and she starts looking into the best of the best professional clean-up crews that they know about.

There's the Sinnerman's organization, but considering Pierce hasn't been looking over their shoulder this entire time, it's probably not them. There's some of the smaller groups who put the time in for really good work, but it just doesn't match up.

The murder weapon was a _strap-on_. It doesn't exactly seem like a hit. 

"Is there anyone who wanted the cashier dead?" Lucifer asks.

"Not that we could find," Chloe says. "Her social media was mostly just stuff from TV shows about vampires."

Lucifer makes a face and sits back down, leaving her personal space. "Is there anything to go off?"

"We're still waiting on information about the business, but we probably won't get that until tomorrow," Chloe says. Normally, she'd suggest they head home, but Trixie won't even get out of school for another couple of hours. "We could go and ask her family more questions."

She's reluctant to do so, though, remembering how upset her moms had been, how they hadn't realized their daughter was dead, how little they seemed to know about her daughters' enemies.

"What about her friends?"

"They'd just moved to LA, she'd barely found the job at all."

"I found something," Ella says loudly from across the room. "Guys!"

Chloe looks over at Lucifer, expecting an understanding face, but he's already headed over. God, she _hates_ this. She gets up and follows, glancing up at Pierce's office when she hears a door slam.

There's a woman with long dark hair, there, someone she doesn't recognize, but whatever. It's a criminal, probably, but it's not like she's gonna get evidence with him right there. 

She walks into the lab. Ella starts talking about sex toy brands and some website called X-Treme Restraints, which Lucifer nods in response to as if that's a normal thing to be familiar with, but they're interrupted by Pierce practically slamming the door open.

"What did you do?" Pierce asks Lucifer accusingly.

"I've done quite a lot, you'll have to be more specific," Lucifer says mildly.

"Why is--"

"Lucifer!" 

"Eve," Lucifer says.

"Eve?" Chloe says, confused, because there's no _way_ this woman is Pierce's _mother._

"Eve?" Ella says. "Maze's friend?"

"Maze's friend?" Pierce asks even as Eve looks over at Ella and nods.

"What are you doing here?" Lucifer asks.

"You--wait, this wasn't you?" Pierce looks more confused than she's ever seen him, and considering they both know Lucifer, that's saying something. 

"No," Lucifer says, annoyed. "I can hardly go where she was, can I?"

Pierce doesn't respond. "Then--Mom, why are you here?"

"Wait," Ella says. "Lucifer--"

"Yes, _that_ Eve," Lucifer says. 

"Have you--" Ella starts.

"No."

"Lucifer!"

"What is going on?" Chloe asks, interrupting Ella's yelling and Eve's cheerful explanation to Pierce.

"Pierce's mother's visited the precinct," Lucifer adds unhelpfully. "Why remains to be seen, however."

"I wanted to see you!" Eve says.

Lucifer shifts uncomfortably. "I'm afraid you might be disappointed."

"Oh, Maze told me you're married now," Eve says with a frown. "But, I mean, isn't it open?"

Pierce groans and leaves the room. Ella looks like she wants popcorn. Chloe feels like she wants to lie facedown on the ground and just stay there for an hour. 

"Our...relationship? No?" To his credit, Lucifer looks genuinely confused by the assumption.

"Wow," Eve says. "Really?" 

"Yeah, really," Chloe says, jealous despite herself. 

"Oh! Are you Chloe?"

"Yes," Chloe says.

"Maze told me about you! You really are gorgeous," Eve enthuses.

"Oh. Thank you," Chloe says, looking over at Lucifer to see if he'll share what the hell's going on. He doesn't, unsurprisingly.

"Well," Eve says. "Sorry to interrupt."

"How _did_ you get here?" Lucifer interjects.

"Ah, Chloe, let's let them talk!" Ella says, dragging Chloe away.

"Wait--"

"I think Lucifer wants to talk to her alone," Ella says.

"But--"

"It's okay, Chloe," Ella says. "Trust me, dude's in love with you, basically, it'll be fine."

"Sure," Chloe says, not sure if she believes her. "But I want to know what's going on."

"Yeah, but you'll be upset if you find out without Lucifer telling you," Ella says. "You want him to trust you."

"He _does_ trust me."

"But not with this. Which is dumb, to be clear. You gotta wait, man."

Ella picks the worst moments to be insightful. "I hate when you're right."

"I'm always right! Except for when I'm super wrong about, like, _major_ things. Like, life-changing things. And also when I stole cars, I guess. Or counted cards."

"Ella."

"Right. So, the murder weapon--"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for them being dumb but i have to be true to their characters and they're emotionally constipated :(


	17. questions, trust, and immortals that bleed

Chloe manages to wait until they get home to ask about Eve. They're without Trixie, since she's staying with her dad tonight (someone had asked Lucifer for a favor that was as easy as opening Lux for the night and letting them sing, or something), and it's a little strange, since she's gotten used to her daughter staying _here_ , but--whatever. It's convenient. 

"So, Eve, huh?" she asks.

"Hm? Yes, quite an entrance," he says. "Then again, Eve was always dramatic."

"How long have you known her?" Chloe asks. She's not jealous. She's _not_.

"Six thousand years, give or take," Lucifer says.

"Oh, so she's--Eve. From the garden of Eden. Right."

"She _is_ Pierce's mother," Lucifer says.

"And Pierce is Cain. Naturally." Chloe sits on the couch and resists the urge to put her head in her hands. "Oh. Wait, do you think Eve is here to help Pierce with something?"

Lucifer snorts. "Doubtful."

"So Eve's not the type of person to get involved with crime?" Chloe's respect for her goes up a little more, grudgingly. She's still annoyed by her assumption of an open relationship, even if the whole thing's fake. Who just thinks that?

"What? Oh, I doubt she'd care about that." And her opinion of Eve drops again. "She's just not close with Pierce. His brother was always her favorite."

"God, I forgot Pierce killed his brother," she says.

"God certainly didn't forget," Lucifer says.

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Alright. Listen, I'm gonna keep looking through the photos Diana's sent us. I'll text you if I need anything."

Lucifer doesn't say anything for a long moment. "You're upset with me."

"No," Chloe lies. She takes a breath. "No," she says again, and this time it's true. "I mean, I'm upset, yeah. Not with you, just--"

"The fact that I won't tell you what's going on?" Lucifer says. Honestly, he picks the _worst_ times to be self-aware.

"Yeah," Chloe admits. "And I still mean what I said. I trust you, and you can tell me in your own time." From where she can see him out of the corner of her eye, his shoulders drop a bit, tension fading. "But I'm still annoyed at being out of the loop. Which is unfair to you, I know--"

"No, it's not," Lucifer says. "I--you deserve to know the truth, Detective."

This isn't when he tells her, she already knows that, but something angry and confused and jealous in the pit of her stomach untwists a bit when she hears that. "Okay."

"I will tell you one day," he says. "And I keep my word. Assuming I don't die in the process of attempting to catch Pierce, of course."

"What happened to being immortal?" she teases, feeling lighter than she has since Eve bounded into the lab. 

"Things change," he says, with more gravitas than she thinks makes sense.

* * *

The next day, Diana texts them something about _imprtant business going down_ and _Pierces gonna be there_ and _they wont patrol here._ Chloe had been looking forward to seeing Trixie again, but Dan's happy enough to take her, saying Charlotte's coming over and they're gonna do breakfast for dinner.

"Waffles, I'm guessing," Chloe says, tone light. Dan smiles, a little self-deprecating, mostly just happy. He doesn't yell at Lucifer when he sees him anymore, even if their old, weird, oddly adorable friendship looks like a thing of the past.

Still, they have to finish the workday before they can go set up a stakeout, and that means paperwork and not attracting Pierce's attention.

Lucifer doesn't help with the former and spectacularly fails the latter. 

"Lucifer," Pierce calls from his office.

Chloe stands up to go with him, but Lucifer waves her back. "I'll be fine, Detective."

"Okay," Chloe says, and walks up with him anyway, because she knows that _fine_ means nothing when Lucifer says it. 

"Lucifer, what--Chloe," Pierce says, interrupting himself. "Is there something you need?"

"Just figured whatever my partner's hearing, I should, too," Chloe says. "I mean, it's not like he can go on a case without me."

She doesn't need to look at Lucifer to know the expression he has on his face is smug and directed straight at Pierce when he puts an arm around her shoulder. She can't find it in her to be annoyed with him.

"I just wanted to talk about my--mother," Pierce says stiffly.

"I doubt you'd like to hear what I have to say about our time together," Lucifer says, grin wide.

"Lucifer!" Chloe says. "Gross."

Pierce doesn't say anything, but smiles a little at her scolding Lucifer.

"Besides, it's not like I know how she came to LA," Lucifer says.

"How do you _not_ know?" Pierce says.

"Because I don't," Lucifer says, irritated. "It's not like I'd _lie._ "

"Right," Pierce says. "Do you know who would?"

"Maybe Maze?" Lucifer says. "You could ask her."

"Do you know Maze?" Chloe says quickly before Lucifer says something to betray the fact that he knows Pierce kidnapped their friend.

"Used to," Pierce says, face closed off again. "That's all, Detective. Lucifer."

Chloe rushes out of the room, Lucifer's arm dropping off her shoulder.

"So why so eager to defend Pierce?" Lucifer asks. He's not angry, she thinks, just annoyed, but she bristles at the assumption.

"Not for Pierce's sake," she hisses, well-aware they're still in the precinct and that they need to speak quietly. "I don't think _anyone_ needs to hear about their mom's sex life, for God's sake."

"Or his, for that matter," Lucifer says brightly as she sits down at her desk. His annoyance is gone as quickly as it came, but she's still--not sure.

"How could you think I was defending Pierce?" she asks, still quiet.

"You did for ages," Lucifer says, which isn't an answer, not really. 

"That was before--" She shuts up immediately as another officer passes her desk. "Before I realized he was the _Sinnerman_ , Lucifer. Before he shot Charlotte."

"I know, Detective," Lucifer says, not quite apologetic. "I--apologize."

He's--embarrassed, she realizes, and waits a moment or two before responding.

"Were you jealous?"

"That's absurd," he says, which isn't a no.

"You definitely _w_ _ere_ ," Chloe says, delighted. Even if they're not going to do anything while this partnership is going on, the reassurance that he's on the same page as her, at least on some level, is reassuring. Not to mention _hugely_ vindicating, after Eve. "'Anything Pierce can do, I can do better?'"

"Well, I can," he says, not looking at her anymore, cheeks flushed. "Ah, Miss Lopez, I'll go discuss--something, with her."

Chloe watches him go, still smiling.

* * *

Lucifer gets fidgety on stakeouts. He has ever since their partnership first started, before it was even official, back when she understood him less than she does now and thought she knew everything she needed to. 

Chloe's used to it, by now. She ignores him shifting in his seat, him eating half of the food that should've lasted them all night in less than an hour, and tries to ignore him humming some tune she doesn't recognize, but curiosity gets the better of her.

"What song is that?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing important."

Chloe wants to pry, but she's working really hard at this whole _trust_ thing, so she doesn't. Instead, they wait in a comfortable silence until other cars start pulling up, far enough away not to notice them, with their lights off.

Not too far for their best camera lenses, thankfully. 

Chloe doesn't take as many pictures as she can as quickly as possible, like she did last time. She waits until the camera's autofocus lets her see the details on their faces, the unsettlingly comfortable expression on Pierce, Diana organizing patrols in the background so no one comes near their car.

"Seems excessive for a simple drug deal," Lucifer says, thoughtful. 

"Diana never said it was a drug deal, I think," Chloe says, low and quiet even though there's no way any of them can hear them from there. Old habits and all. "I'm not sure what else it could be."

"It's not trafficking," Lucifer says. "All the cases we saw of that were by the docks."

"Right," Chloe says. "Hopefully we can catch it on camera."

Pierce and his goons finish making sure the area is clear, missing Chloe and Lucifer entirely. Diana doesn't glance over once, and Chloe tries not to worry about the fact that their criminal informant is such a good liar. 

Eventually, another car pulls up, sleek and far too clean for a deal in the middle of the desert. Lucifer doesn't add anything when the car's driver lets out the passenger, a tall man with a white suit better suited to ivory poachers than whatever this is. (Unless it is poaching, because clearly Pierce's moral code isn't all that strict.)

Their camera can pick up the details of their faces, and Chloe makes sure to save them, but they can't hear them at all. Chloe's bad at lip-reading and there's no way Lucifer can see them from this distance.

The man in the suit pulls out a box, old and dusty, and opens it. Pierce looks in the box, cautious as ever, before reaching in, pulling out a blade.

"Oh, bloody hell," Lucifer says.

Chloe takes plenty of pictures as Pierce studies it. Diana looks confused and annoyed, like this wasn't the deal she was expecting and there's no use here. Chloe's feeling about as irritated, but it might be an antiquity or something stolen from a museum, and she'll take what she can get.

Unfortunately, Diana's distracted by the deal going down, and one of the goons wanders close enough to realize there's someone watching.

The first shot ricochets off of the metal, close enough to the tire to make Chloe panic. She puts the car into reverse almost before she realizes what's going on, pulling away and hoping the car's good enough at off-roading to make up for her lack of experience with it.

She turns and spins away, and hears further shots. She hears Diana yell something, but she can't spare her a glance, the passenger side window shattering. She doesn't feel a bullet speed past her face, and she's relieved for a second, driving further and further away. It's dark enough that they couldn't see the license plate, probably, and other than a cut on her thigh from the glass, she got out unscathed--

Lucifer's oddly quiet next to her, though, and as soon as they're back on the road, she glances over.

He's breathing, thank god, but he's clutching his shoulder in a tight, white-knuckled grip, blood seeping through his fingers, face covered in cuts from the glass. His eyes are closed and he's leaning back into his seat, and he looks so, so pale.

"Lucifer!"

Chloe pulls out her phone, yells at Siri about the nearest hospital, and starts driving. She doesn't have a siren in this car, but she speeds anyway.

"Lucifer, come on, stay with me."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," he says, quietly enough that she has to strain to hear him.

"This isn't the time to joke," she says, voice wavering. He responds with something she can't quite make out.

The hospital isn't close, but she drives almost twice the speed limit, and they make it there just fine. She stops the car abruptly, wincing at Lucifer's hiss of pain, jumping out and running around to her side.

"Come on," she says, grabbing his arm and wrapping it around her shoulder. She has to hold him there, his grip is so weak. "Come on, stay with me."

"I don't suppose you could drop me off and go," he says.

"Why would I do that?" she asks. "I'm not leaving you."

"Oh," he says, and slumps against her. She staggers under his full weight.

"Lucifer. Lucifer?"


	18. redo

Chloe barely remembers dragging Lucifer through the front doors of the hospital, yelling for help until some nurses get him onto a gurney and roll him away. She tries to follow them through a set of double doors but a guard steps in front of her.

"He's my partner," she says, about to flash her badge, but he shakes his head.

"Listen, ma'am," he says, and she's seconds away from decking him, which isn't fair, he's just doing his job, but _seriously_? "I understand he's your partner, but not even family should be back there. When he's out of intensive care, family can see him, okay?"

"I'm--" Her words get caught in her throat, and she holds up her hand instead, showing the guard the dark metal ring there.

"Oh," he says, tone suddenly more sympathetic. "Look, I'll go with you to get the forms and things signed, alright? I get how rough it is, having a husband in the hospital."

She wants to say something more, about how she's so used to seeing Lucifer walking away from things way worse than goons with guns, or maybe something about how she has to be there _with_ him _now_ , because there's so much they still have to _talk_ about.

"Can we keep the fact that we're here--hidden? Private?" she says instead.

He frowns. "Uh, will you be using insurance?"

"Is there any way we can keep it from our--my--employer if we do?"

"I honestly don't know," the guard says. Jim, according to his nametag.

"Then no," Chloe says. "I'm sure Lucifer can afford it."

"Your husband's name is Lucifer?" Jim asks, looking more confused than ever. He's still walking her to the desk and grabbing the forms she needs, though, so she's good.

"Yup," she says, grabbing a cheap pen from the bin at the desk without really paying attention. She doesn't elaborate.

"You must really care about him to get past that, huh?" Jim jokes.

"You have _no_ idea," she says.

She realizes, as she's looking at the form, that there's a lot of things she doesn't know. She has no clue what Lucifer's blood type is, which is _terrifying._ She's a homicide detective! They're in danger every day! She should know this! She doesn't know if he has any allergies, either, though she's pretty sure he doesn't--she can imagine him whining about it. That seems like something he would do. 

When Chloe's filled out the parts of the form she knows, she stares down at the rest of it.

"Do you--need to call someone?" Jim asks.

"Oh, shit," Chloe says. "How long--"

"You've been here about an hour," Jim says.

"And you--stayed with me the whole time?" she asks.

"I'm getting paid to sit down right now," he says. "And my shift ends soon, anyway."

"I don't wanna keep you from your husband," she says.

"I don't wanna leave you alone," he retorts. 

"I'm gonna call our friends," she says. "His brother. He might know this."

"Okay," Jim says. "You sure you're fine?"

"Yeah," Chloe says, lying through her teeth.

* * *

"Call me this late again and I'll kick you--"

"Maze, it's me," Chloe says.

"Oh, hey," Maze says, most of the anger bleeding from her voice.

"Hello!" a woman says into the speaker.

"...Eve?"

"Shut up," Maze says. "Don't--say anything."

"Okay," Chloe says. "Um, Lucifer--"

"Is he okay?" Eve asks. Maze is weirdly quiet.

"He got shot--"

"Fuck," Maze says. "Fuck! We'll be there."

"You don't even know where I--"

Maze hangs up. Chloe tries to call Amenadiel again. He still doesn't pick up.

"Amenadiel, please," Chloe says. "Lucifer's in the hospital, and I don't--know his blood type, or anything, and I just want to make sure he's okay. Uh, I texted you the address. Call me back--or just...show up, okay?" 

That's Amenadiel and Linda (who's bringing Trixie) and Maze (and Eve, apparently) all called, and she's not sure who else. Dan and Charlotte are busy recovering and Dan's still pissed, anyway, and she's not sure if Lucifer will appreciate her calling Ella. Sure, Ella's his friend, but he's always reckless in the face of injury, and she doesn't think he'll appreciate being--well, coddled, or whatever.

She's just relieved they told her they're keeping him on the first floor. Even if she still can't actually _do_ anything, it's nice to know he's close. 

In the end, she decides that if he's going to be upset with her, she'd rather it be because she called too many people, not too few. The people at the desk haven't told her his condition, yet, though, so this might all be a moot point. It won't be, though. It--can't be.

"Lo," Ella says over the phone.

"Ella? You okay?" Chloe asks.

"Mmyeah I'm fine," Ella mumbles. "It's just late as hell, you good? Need my forensic ex-per-tise?" She separates the syllables out, though Chloe's not sure why. 

"Um," Chloe says.

"Hey, are _you_ okay?"

"I don't--Ella, Lucifer got shot."

"What?" Ella says. She sounds different, distant, like she's put Chloe on speaker. "I'm getting dressed now, where are you?"

"This hospital out on the outskirts of LA," she says. "I can--text you the address."

"I'll be there soon," Ella says. "Seriously. I'll break _so_ many driving laws." 

Chloe snorts. "You shouldn't tell me that."

"You're not a traffic cop anymore," Ella says. "I'm on my way."

"Okay," Chloe says, and hangs up. 

There's no one else for her to call. She texts Charlotte, but doesn't get a response, which isn't surprising. She's been mostly ignoring them since she woke up, too worried about getting her and Dan caught in their Pierce investigation.

She wants to talk to her about Pierce. Or just in general. When she'd gotten shot, Chloe had realized how much of a part of her life she'd become. Hell, Ella probably would've invited her to their next girls' night. Then again, Ella would also invite Eve, so maybe that's more about Ella than it is Charlotte.

"Mrs. Morningstar?"

She starts. "Um, my name's still--it doesn't matter, what news--?"

"He's alright," the nurse interrupts her, and Chloe sags with relief. "We've transferred him to an overnight room, you can come see him now."

More tired than ever, she follows the nurse as she talks about how he hasn't woken up yet, but they're confident he will after the anesthetic wears off, since he mostly collapsed exhaustion and blood loss. The only thing she really processes is that they don't think he's going to die. He's out of the woods. 

She doesn't realize she's gotten used to what he looks like sleeping until she sees him in the hospital bed, looking far less relaxed than she unconsciously expects. Lines of discomfort mar his face even though he's completely dead to the world--he'd be complaining about the hospital sheets otherwise. The chair she ends up sitting in is much less comfortable than the chairs in the lobby, but she barely notices it, focused on him.

"We're right down the hall if you need anything," the nurse says gently before leaving her alone.

Chloe brings one leg up and under her. It's far from the first time Lucifer's been injured when investigating; hell, she shot him once, and she's wearing the bullet right now. It's the first time she can remember that he was ever actually unconscious from it, though, and the first time he's been hospitalized for it. As far as she knows, anyway. It's possible that he went without telling her, sometime early in their partnership where they didn't really trust each other.

Part of her's impressed at how far they've come. Part of her thinks about how they still have a ways to go.

Assuming he's on the same page as her. Assuming he wakes up.

Her phone goes off, vibrating in her pocket, and she checks it to see Trixie's texted her "linda says well be there in ten minutes". Trixie always gets anxious when either of her parents get hurt, understandably, and she's a little worried about her daughter's gonna react to Lucifer in the hospital. Sure, this whole scheme is just to get Pierce off their backs when they investigate, but she cares about Lucifer a lot.

Chloe keeps checking her phone for the time, two minutes passing by agonizingly slowly. She notices when Lucifer shifts in bed right away, though, head snapping up fast enough it hurts her neck a bit.

"Lucifer?"

"Detective," he says. He's slurring his words a bit, but he's clearly awake and aware, and she feels some tension melt away. "What happened?"

"You got shot," she says. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," he says, but he sounds more annoyed than in pain. He still winces a bit when he talks, the cuts on his face from the window exploding far from healed. "How long was I out?"

"Three years," she says, and he grins, recognizing it as a callback to their first case right away. "A few hours. Trixie's almost here."

"She is?" Lucifer says, slightly alarmed.

"She wanted to see you," Chloe says. "It was, um." She takes a second just to breathe. He doesn't interrupt her, uncharacteristically considerate. "We weren't sure if you were gonna get out of surgery."

"Oh," Lucifer says, and for a quick, irrational second she's worried he's going to collapse again. "You did say you weren't leaving, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she says, wondering if he's having memory issues due to the anesthesia. "Sorry, what does that have to do with your surgery?"

"Nothing important," he says, and she can't help but think he's keeping something from her. Trust, though. "I..." She waits for him to finish his thought, characteristically considerate. "I appreciate it, Detective."

"What are partners for?" she says, joking but not really. "Look, Lucifer..." Part of her expects for Trixie to run in then and there, or a nurse, or something else to break up the moment, but nothing happens. "Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?"

He shifts a bit. "Yes."

"Look," she says. "Uh, all cards on the table. I know this whole situation is completely ridiculous, and it's hard to know what's real and what's--not, but. I'd rather try and be confused sometimes then put this--us--off again."

Lucifer doesn't say anything for a second. Chloe tries not to be anxious about it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she says, and realizes she really is. 

He smiles at her, then, wide and genuine and soft around the eyes, and she can't help but smile back.

It's then that Trixie runs in, followed by a tired Linda.

"Thanks for picking her up from Dan's," Chloe says, and Linda nods.

"What are friends for?" she says. "Lucifer, you okay?"

"Yes," he says, still smiling.

Trixie doesn't run up to hug Lucifer, but asks in a small, quiet voice that isn't really like her at all if he's really okay or if he's just saying that to make her feel better.

"I'm alright," he says.

"Promise?" she asks, holding out a pinkie.

Lucifer, looking uncomfortably between Chloe and Linda, makes a pinkie promise. Chloe tries to hide her smile behind her hand.

The three of them stay quiet while Trixie falls asleep in the hard plastic chair, bunching up her jacket as a pillow. Maze storms in not long after, but spots Trixie before she can yell something angry and/or worried. Eve, trailing after her, waves sheepishly at Chloe. Chloe waves back, confused.

"Hey," Maze says, quiet enough to not wake Trixie. "What happened?"

"One of Pierce's goons shot me," Lucifer says.

"My son?" Eve says, sounding more confused than upset.

"Yes," Lucifer says.

"Okay," Linda says. "That's--okay."

"How is that--?" Chloe starts to ask.

"Chloe," Maze interrupts.

"Yeah?"

Maze blinks a couple times. "I...forgot."

"...sure," Chloe says, used to Maze's weirdness. 

Amenadiel walks in with Ella a little later. He looks the same as he always does, and Ella looks like a weird mix between tired and starstruck, though Chloe has _no_ clue why.

"Lucifer," Amenadiel says. "This has to stop."

"Brother," Lucifer says. "How good to know you're on my side in this trying time."

Amenadiel sighs. Maze glares at him. "I _am_ on your side, Lucifer. That's why--"

"Let's discuss this another time," Lucifer interrupts. "The detective's offspring is sleeping."

Lucifer glances over at Trixie, and Amenadiel nods, clearly still annoyed.

"Hey, Ella," Chloe says quietly. 

"Hey!" Ella says. "Hey! Hello."

"You okay?" Chloe asks.

"Sure!" Ella says. "That is something I can be!" She's quiet enough to not wake up Trixie, but is still a little loud for the space.

"You good?" Maze asks.

"Sure!" Ella repeats.

"Okay," Maze says. "C'mon. Let's go."

"Go where?" Ella asks, but follows Maze out anyway.

Chloe's getting used to having no idea what's happening. Which is fine, and not at _all_ annoying.

"Chloe?" Eve says, tucking her hair behind her ears in a little discomfited gesture. "Can we talk?"

"Why not?" Chloe says, because the tension in this room is weird. She smiles at Lucifer when she steps out, and he smiles back.

"You two seem to be getting along," Eve says.

"Yeah," Chloe says.

"I wanted to say sorry," Eve says. "About, um, making assumptions? About you and Lucifer?"

"Oh," Chloe says. "I wasn't expecting that."

"He's really different from the Lucifer I knew," Eve says thoughtfully. "Not better or worse, just different."

Chloe doesn't say anything, but the Lucifer she knew even two years ago--needless to say, he's gotten better.

"Anyway," Eve says. "I'm happy for you! And I didn't want there to be any bad blood between us." 

"Thanks," Chloe says, pleasantly surprised. "I appreciate that, Eve."

Eve smiles at her, sweet and open, and Chloe wonders what she and Lucifer used to do. Or, well, what they used to talk about, what they used to _do_ is obvious. It just doesn't seem like they have a ton in common. Then again, it's not like she and Lucifer have a lot in common either.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket, then, and she checks it, wondering if maybe Charlotte texted her back. It's Diana, though, sending her location, and she's texting so quickly Chloe can barely keep up.

**were at this address and they dont know about you**

**but they know someones investigating**

**im gonna try and get you some evidence**

**make sure you get justice for my brother okay**

Diana?

Diana are you okay?

There's no response, and Chloe goes inside to show Lucifer. Maybe she should be worried, but it's hard to feel anything but content, with Trixie curled up in her lap, Maze trying to pretend she's not cuddling Eve when they can all see she is, Ella passing out on a confused Amenadiel's shoulder, and Lucifer smiling at her with this open expression she hopes she gets used to.


	19. sisterhood in the face of murder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning for a corpse being explicitly described. nothing gory, but if you want to skip, don't read the two paragraphs after the one that ends "to protect her informants". if you want a more detailed warning, message me at gilarroyo or dryadfiona and i'll answer to the best of my ability!

Chloe wakes up in the uncomfortable plastic chair, Trixie curled up in her lap and an ache in her neck. Linda had to leave, saying she wasn't feeling well, but the rest of their motley crew is huddled around the room, Eve snoozing on Maze's shoulder who in turn is asleep half on top of Ella. Amenadiel and Lucifer are both awake, talking quietly enough that Chloe can't hear them over the sound of Ella snoring.

"Detective," Lucifer says once he notices her, smiling. She smiles back, barely awake. Amenadiel looks annoyed, which, since she really only sees him around Lucifer, isn't anything new. "Brother, let's talk another time."

"Let's talk about this another time," Amenadiel says.

"If you insist," Lucifer says, which Chloe notes isn't technically a _yes_. From the grimace on Amenadiel's face as he leaves, he knows that too. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not really," Chloe admits. "But it's not like any of us were leaving."

"You could have," Lucifer says, looking away from her, a little uncomfortable. "It's not as though I was a thrilling conversationalist passed out here."

"That's not the point," she says, wanting to get up and move closer, but her daughter's out like a light. "I told you before. I'm not leaving you."

"So you said," he says, tone wondering, almost disbelieving. 

Chloe wants to sit down with him and tell him that he matters, to her and in general. Maybe it's a ridiculous urge, since he's outwardly the _most_ narcissistic man she's _ever_ met, but there's these moments that she worries--telling a suspect he may as well kill him because she doesn't care about him anyway, trying to prove she needs him to solve crimes as if that's why she spends so much time with him. His expression when she'd said "I thought you could use a friend", back when Father Frank died, as if he hadn't really had one before. Hell, maybe he hadn't--his childhood was obviously shitty, given the _everything_ about him.

"What's that blade that Pierce bought?" she asks to distract herself from the sad turn her thoughts are taking.

"Something that could kill us both," he says casually.

She rolls her eyes. "I mean, yeah, that's sort of how knives work."

"Is it?" he says.

"Fine, don't tell me." She trusts Lucifer, she really does, but now it feels like everyone's _in_ on something that she isn't, and it's driving her up the goddamn wall. 

Lucifer frowns a bit. "It's a historical artifact. I believe you call it _kladenets_."

"What, Americans?"

"Humans," he says. She cracks a small smile, even if the comment annoys her, a little. She's not sure if this metaphor is good for him. "It's from Russian folklore."

"What would Pierce want with that?" she says. "He collects rocks, he's not really a historical artifacts type. And if he wanted a weapon, it's not like cladnets would be any better than a knife."

"Kladenets," he corrects. "Though samosek is more accurate."

"You speak Russian?" 

"I speak everything," he says, and the effect of his usual arrogant smirk is tempered by the bandages on his face. 

"So do I," Maze grumbles from where she's still on the floor. Eve's awake now, too, smiling cheerfully like sleeping on the floor hasn't bugged her at all. 

"Same," Eve says. At a questioning glance from Maze, she adds, "What? I got bored."

"You probably read better than Maze and I, then," Lucifer says.

Chloe's phone beeps in her pocket, and she pulls it out to a little notification reminding her that her phone's about to die. Diana's texts from last night are still on her screen, too, and now that Lucifer's out of the woods, there's nothing to distract her from the worry and guilt she feels reading them.

"Everything alright?" Lucifer asks.

"Not sure," she says, reaching over to show him the phone as best she can. He frowns at it, and she sighs, knowing the comfortable night spent with most of their friends is well and truly over. 

"Trixie," she says, nudging her daughter. "C'mon, wake up."

"What time is it?" Trixie asks as she wakes up, rubbing her eyes.

"Um," she says. "Oh, almost eight."

"So I won't make it to school on time," Trixie says thoughtfully.

"Monkey, you still have to go," Chloe says, though that reminds her--she's going to need to give Pierce an excuse as to why she's not showing up to work today. Like, now. She's normally in about now.

"Fine," Trixie says. "Can Maze drive me?"

"I don't know, have you asked her?" Chloe says.

"If I have to," Maze says, as if acting mean with an intimidating expression is enough to distract Chloe from the fact that she's effectively cuddled her girlfriend(?) all night. "C'mon, kid."

"Bye, mom," Trixie says, jumping off the chair and hugging her goodbye. Chloe gets up, letting out a little sigh of relief as she stretches. "Bye, Lucifer, I hope you feel better soon!"

"I'm sure I will," he says.

"Good," she says, quietly serious, and Chloe wishes she hadn't had to hear that tone in her daughter's voice before. She follows Maze out, Eve trailing behind them with a little wave at them both. Ella's still asleep, and Chloe walks over to Lucifer's side.

"You sure you're okay?" she asks.

"I did promise," he says.

"Yeah," she says, reaching down to hold the hand closer to her. She looks at their interlacing fingers rather than his face, the moment oddly fragile. "I just--I was really worried, Lucifer."

"I didn't mean to alarm you," he says.

"No, that's--" She exhales, a little frustrated, but more with herself than him. For once. "Our work is dangerous. I forget, sometimes, that you get in as much danger as I do. More, actually. You always walk away from things, so it's just--"

"Detective," he says. "I'll be fine. Sooner than you think."

She snorts. "You do realize luck only goes so far."

Lucifer smiles at her. "I--" He stops suddenly, expression closing off to just mild amusement. "Miss Lopez."

"Hey," Ella says from the floor. Chloe doesn't let go of Lucifer's hand, but it's a close thing. "Sorry, I didn't wanna interrupt."

"Morning," Chloe says, willing herself not to show how annoyed she is. From the smugness she can read on Lucifer's face, she's not doing very well. 

"I'm just--I'm gonna go," Ella says, pushing herself up and out. Neither of them say anything until the door closes. Chloe smiles at Lucifer, awkward, and he smiles back, seemingly just as out of his comfort zone as she is. More, maybe. 

"I'm gonna go figure out what's up with Diana," she says. "I'll be back right after, okay?"

"Don't worry," he says. "There's no need to."

"Just because I don't _need_ to doesn't mean I don't want to," she says. "I'm here for you. I _want_ to be here for you."

He looks away from her, down at their hands, an odd expression on his face. "Detective, if being here makes you uncomfortable, I don't want you to have to suffer that for my sake."

"Leaving my partner in the hospital alone for any reason isn't exactly what I want to do anyway," she says, and he smiles, still not looking at her.

"There's nothing I can say to convince you to stay away, is there?" he says.

"Probably not," she admits, and he chuckles. "Do you not want me here?"

"I always enjoy spending time with you," he says, which isn't an answer at _all_. 

"Lucifer," she tries again. "What do you want?"

"You should get to the address our informant sent you," he says instead of answering her. "I'll be fine."

"I'll see you soon," she says, and before she can think better of it, she leans forward to press a quick kiss to his forehead. "Promise."

Lucifer doesn't say anything, but smiles at her a little helplessly as she leaves.

"You two are adorable," Ella says. "By the way."

"Come on," Chloe says, embarrassed.

"I called Pierce for you two," Ella says. "Well, us three. Not that--I said all three of us aren't coming in."

"Why aren't you going in?" she asks. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just figured you might need someone in forensics if you're heading to a crime scene!"

"I mean--yeah. Probably," Chloe admits. "What'd you tell Pierce?"

"That Amenadiel and Lucifer got in a fight and you're not heading to work without him," she says easily. "And that I'm _super_ hungover."

Chloe smiles a bit at Ella. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Ella's phone goes off, and she checks it on the way to Chloe's car. The passenger side window is completely blown out, glass and blood all over the seat, and she has to take a second just to process before getting in the car. Ella slides into the backseat.

"Speaking of being hungover," she says. "Tribe night! Tonight."

"Tonight?" Chloe says. "Ella, Lucifer's in the hospital."

"I'm sure he wants you not to stress too much," Ella says. "Besides, we'll get to ask Maze _all_ about Eve."

"Fun as that sounds, I'm not gonna leave Lucifer to spend a night alone in the hospital," she says. "Sorry, Ella. Another night."

"You always say another night," Ella says. "Come on. He'll be okay! I'm sure Amenadiel or someone will spend time with him."

Chloe frowns. "It's not...the same. Why are you so insistent, anyway? Normally you'll listen if I have an actual reason."

"Uh," Ella says. "Good point, Chloe."

Ella's quiet after that, and Chloe tries to figure out why that whole exchange happened at _all_. They pull up to the address, some abandoned warehouse on the furthest outskirts of the city. There's so many of these abandoned warehouses, actually. Why is real estate so expensive with all this unused land? It's absurd. 

They get out of the car after circling around the place one or two times to make sure there's no cameras. Chloe doesn't spot any, and Diana clearly thought it was important enough to tell them, so they risk it, parking with the license plate facing away from the building just in case. 

When she walks into the warehouse, she doesn't notice anything amiss right away, glancing up for cameras or shooters or anything else of interest. Ella does, though, grabbing Chloe's arm. Chloe's used to the crime scenes they investigate smelling bad, but the scenes they investigate are usually days old, not hours. 

Diana's body, cold in front of them, isn't any messier or gorier than the other bodies they investigate, but it's the first time she's investigating the murder of someone she _knew._ She gags, more out of revulsion to the scene than any actual stimulus, and turns away.

"Is this your informant?" Ella asks, somber. Chloe nods rather than answer verbally, hand still over her mouth as she tries to control her instinctual horror. "I'll go get my kit out of the car."

"You brought your kit?" she asks, taking a couple steps back from the body.

"Yeah," Ella says with a little shrug. "Figured I'd bring it with me everywhere now that I know that--uh, that my boss is a criminal mastermind, you know? Seemed like the smart thing to do."

"Sure," Chloe says, though she doesn't really follow the logic. And while she's normally one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Diana's dead, and it's at _best_ because of her inability to protect her informants. 

There's really nothing she can do to take her mind off the scene in front of her, so she forces herself to look at the body and do her job. One of her arms is under her body, awkwardly twisted in a way that would be painful if she were still alive. Defensive wounds, which means that she'd been fighting to save herself. Cause of death will obviously be unclear, since they can't do a full autopsy, but the bruises around her neck are huge and dark and her eyes are wide open and bloodshot, so she'd guess strangulation. 

She doesn't touch the body, because she doesn't have gloves, so she doesn't know how cold it is. When she died. Maybe it's still warm, and if she'd just hurried, they could've saved her. Maybe it's cold, and as she was sending her texts last night, her informant was already dead. She feels a little sick, and looks back away to look around the scene.

There's plenty of footsteps in the dust of this place, and none deep enough for Ella to get an impression. Ella, quietly walking back in, doesn't say anything, just hands her a pair of gloves and kneels by the body. Chloe puts the gloves on, focusing on the sensation of the latex rather than the gruesome scene around her.

No cameras, which means they're not going to get caught, but there's no footage to look over. No clue as to what evidence Diana wanted to get for them, which Chloe feels awful for even thinking about. But if Pierce is behind this--or behind the person who is--then it's all the more important that they get him behind bars. There's more blood on his hands. 

"Hey," Ella says, still subdued. "There's some blood under her fingernails. It looks like they cleaned off most of it on this hand, but the other has enough for a sample."

"DNA evidence," she says. "Okay. Good."

"There's something in her hand, too," Ella says, and pulls gently at a little scrap of paper. It tears--rigor mortis has clearly set in, so at she's been dead at least three hours. Chloe's not sure if that's better or worse. "It's a...PO box number, I think?"

"I'll take that," she says, reaching for it. It's got a bit of blood on it. "I can get it open, or Lucifer can do his--unlocking thing."

"Yeah," Ella agrees. "I'm gonna send this sample over to my friends in Detroit PD. They'll keep it on the DL."

"Smart," Chloe says with a nod. "Plus some samples to other departments, just in case?"

"There's only enough for one," Ella says apologetically. "Look, we've gotten what we can, okay, let's go."

"I owe it to her to figure out what happened," Chloe argues.

"Chloe," Ella says. "We've done what we can do right now. The best thing we can do for her now is to make sure we catch Pierce."

"Yeah," Chloe says. "Okay."

Chloe follows Ella out, glancing back at the body one last time. She wonders what they plan to do with it--leave her there to rot, hire a professional clean-up crew. Maybe they'll have one of the lazier or more corrupt cops in her precinct investigate. The guilt churns in her stomach, hot and roiling.

"I'm driving," Ella says, and Chloe's too upset to argue. She almost goes to the passenger seat before she remembers the window, the blood, and gets into the backseat instead, trying to slow her breathing. "Chloe?" Ella says from the front seat, driving away from the warehouse and back towards the hospital again. 

"Yeah?"

"It's okay," Ella says.

Chloe scoffs, disbelieving, and says, "She died because she was trying to get evidence for _us_."

"And you didn't kill her," Ella says. "She was trying to get evidence against a criminal mastermind. You can't blame yourself."

"Sure," Chloe says to appease Ella, but it doesn't help the guilt at all.

The rest of the ride back to the hospital is silent.

* * *

When Chloe walks into the hospital room, she's ready to sit back in that shitty plastic chair and talk to Lucifer about anything and everything other than their case, focus on make sure he gets better and doesn't try to check himself out early. When she walks in the room, though, Lucifer's putting on one of his suit jackets, fully dressed and ready to go. The cuts on his face have all but disappeared, other than a small cut on his forehead where the nastiest one was.

"Lucifer?" she asks, confused.

"Detective!" he says brightly, smiling warmly at her. She tries to smile back, but she's sure her confusion reads on her face. "Is everything alright?"

"Uh, not really," she says, looking at the way he moves his shoulder, like it barely aches anymore. "I'm fine," she quickly adds when his smile drops. "Diana's not, though. We found, um, her body."

"Oh," he says, oddly calm. "Are you alright?"

"Sure," she says. He frowns at the obvious lie, but doesn't call her on it. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lucifer, come on," she says. "I left, like, an hour ago. How are you better?"

"Angelic healing," he says.

Chloe doesn't feel like engaging with that, and she's relieved he's okay, so she takes a step closer. She doesn't move to hug him, in case he's in more pain than he's letting on, but she reaches a hand up to his face, tracing her thumb on his cheek. He puts his hand over hers and smiles at her. 

Part of her wants to pull him down to her and kiss him, and she knows she _can_ now. But there's so many unanswered questions and the guilt over Diana is still rolling in her gut, so instead, she smiles back at him and pulls her hand back.

"We have the day off work, right?" he says, walking out of the room. Not sure how they ended up here, she follows.

"Yeah," she says. "Uh, Ella's going to send off a blood sample to another department. We can probably gonna go investigate this post office box." 

"I can do that," he says. "Detective, you deserve to rest."

"No," she says, shaking her head. "No, I need to--" She cuts herself off once they pass the front desk and are both handed forms. 

"This seems excessive," Lucifer says, frowning down at them and signing them without paying attention. Chloe wonders, not for the first time, how Lux hasn't gone out of business if this is how he signs contracts. 

"We lost your blood sample," one of the nurses says apologetically. 

Lucifer signs the forms quickly and hands them back. 

"You lost it?" Chloe says, confused.

"The vial was thrown out by mistake," she says with a shrug. "Since you reported a shooting and not poisoning or something similar, we didn't need another one, and thought we'd leave you all to rest."

Chloe nods. Lucifer smiles at her and takes her hand to walk her out of the hospital. It's not even noon, but Chloe's exhausted like she's been working late. Lucifer's quiet when they get to the car, looking at the glass and the blood.

"We can take it back and then you never have to ride in it again," she says. He nods, though he doesn't seem that upset. He hasn't seemed as upset as she has at all, really, and it's weird. 

Lucifer insists he shouldn't have to sit in the backseat, but she refuses to let him drive, so they're on the road with her periodically checking the rearview mirror to make sure he hasn't passed out from checking out of the hospital early. He hasn't yet.

"Are you okay?" she asks again.

"Yes, Detective," he says calmly.

"Diana's dead," she says, slowly. 

"So you said," he says. 

"That's--how are you so calm?" 

Lucifer stiffens. "I apologize, Detective. It's...not the first time someone working for me has died."

"Died _for_ us," she says, eyes fixed on the road. She's not nearly as focused as she should be, driving, but this far in the desert there's fewer cars anyway. "I just..."

"Detective," he says again. "Take the rest of the day to rest. Spend the evening with Miss Lopez, she seemed excited about it. You can't take this burden on your shoulders."

"I don't know if I can take it off them," she says, but she desperately wants to.

* * *

So far, this tribe night has worked like the rest--getting absolutely blackout drunk. 

Chloe feels lighter than she does normally, but not calm, still agitated and restless and irritable. Maze is handling it well, handling her more drinks and telling her violent stories that probably aren't helping but she appreciates in the moment. Eve is cheerful all the way through it, and Ella keeps asking her about how she and Maze got together. Chloe's a little too wasted to follow along, but there's something about shuriken and Wonderwall and ecstasy. Linda's not drinking, but she's laughing along anyway.

Slowly, the group gets her to feel better, until she's laughing along rather than just nodding all-too-seriously at Maze's embellished stories about disembowelment. It's exactly what Chloe needed, and her Uber back to the penthouse is the happiest she's felt all day. Patrick, the bartender, waves at her as she pushes her way past the clubgoers, and she waves back. She slumps against the elevator wall, appreciating how cool it is, until the doors open with a little _ding_. Lucifer's still awake, and she smiles at him.

"What'd you find in the box?" she says, proud of the way her words are only slurring a little bit.

"Nothing that can't wait until morning," he says, amused. "You had a good night, I assume?"

"Yeah," she says, cutting herself off with a huge yawn. "I think...I'm gonna sleep."

"Good night, Detective," he says, moving to help her towards the bed. She's not _that_ drunk, but she lets him walk her up the stairs anyway.

She puts her hand on his face again, idly noticing the cut on his forehead is completely gone. "You know," she says conspiratorially, "if I weren't so drunk, I'd kiss you right now."

Lucifer smiles at her, but it looks more fond than interested, which would be offensive if the sheets she was leaning against weren't _calling_ to her. It's been a long day. She watches Lucifer as he walks away, eyes closing without her conscious control. The last thing she sees before she falls asleep is him smiling at her, and she's pretty sure she passes out smiling back.


	20. tension

Chloe had vaguely expected to wake up with a hangover when Eve had goaded her into chugging their entire pitcher of sangria, even if she didn't finish the challenge. She'd thought it again when Maze had told her that she was a demon and needed more to get drunk, and drunk Chloe had thought that was _sad_ and challenged her to a drinking content to get her drunk. The worst offender of the night was when Linda had refused to drink, and Chloe was never gonna pressure her because that's shitty, but it meant that someone had to take the drinks that the bartender was giving them that Linda couldn't have. Eve and Maze had been busy making out or something in the bathroom, and Chloe had decided to take that burden upon herself. For the rest of the night.

And yet, when she wakes up with the worst headache of her life, she isn't expecting it.

"Oh," Chloe says, and winces, closing her eyes. "No. It's too light. Can you--"

"Done," Lucifer says, still sounding fond and amused, like he did last night. She thinks. Everything had gone a little fuzzy, at the end. The painful light pressing against her eyes dies down a little, and she squints one eye open to see him closing the curtains. Thankfully, the room can get _really_ dark, so opening her eyes barely hurts at all. "Triple espresso or hair of the dog?"

It's the second time he's asked her that question, and she feels so different this time around. For one, she can remember last night, mostly. For another, their dynamic is less "drunken proposition" as it is "new relationship but also technically married for almost six months and also one of them has some massive secret that everyone knows but her". 

She's so lost in her own thoughts (and headache) that he says, "Detective? Are you alright?"

"What? Yeah. Coffee." She reaches her hand out without getting up, and he puts the mug in her hand. She sits up, finally, because she wouldn't want to spill coffee all over the sheets, and drinks the whole mug in one go.

"So was this Maze's doing," Lucifer says.

"It was a group effort," Chloe mutters into the empty mug. She misses when there was coffee. "Eve was there."

"Eve? Oh, yes, she's quite the partier," Lucifer says. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Chloe says, and she's relieved to find that it doesn't feel like she's lying. "I mean. Like, things could be better, obviously. I wish Diana wasn't, uh. You know." It's not usually hard for her to talk about this sort of thing, but she keeps thinking about Diana's body, about how it's her fault that it's there. "I'm okay. Not good, but I'm...okay."

"I understand," he says, but he looks sad when he says it.

* * *

Chloe wears sunglasses to the precinct and keeps her headphones in without any music playing. Her head isn't killing her quite as much, especially after another mug of coffee, three drained water bottles, and a breakfast of incredibly greasy food that Lucifer had looked slightly disgusted at but didn't say anything about. Lucifer drives, and it's weird that he's being responsible, but then again, he's been surprisingly great through this whole ordeal.

Chloe doesn't get out of the car right away once Lucifer pulls the Corvette into the parking lot. She's not really ready to get to the day and investigate a murder scene, especially since someone besides her and Ella might have found Diana's body by now.

But this is her job, so she gets out of the car and walks with Lucifer hand-in-hand into the precinct. Dan's back at his tiny desk under the stairs, but he looks happier than he has in awhile, even if he glares at Lucifer as they pass. Ella's already in the lab, and she's wearing sunglasses and headphones too. She looks up as Chloe sits at her desk, though, and heads out to meet them.

"So is there an update on, uh, the case?" Chloe asks.

"The cocaine one or--"

"Either," Chloe says.

"Uh, McMillan actually finished up that one while you were with Lucifer in the hospital," Ella says apologetically. "The cocaine was unrelated to the murder, as it turns out. But, uh, I'll talk to you in a bit, but can I talk with you first, Lucifer?"

"What? Of course," Lucifer says, glancing back at Chloe. Chloe shrugs, trying not to let her annoyance show. Lucifer follows Ella, and Chloe tries not to think about whatever they're talking about that Ella didn't want her to hear. She remembers what happened when she was drinking last night, so it's not like she drunkenly spilled all of how she felt about Lucifer (again), which means it's something involving this big damn secret everybody knows but her.

Well. Maybe not everybody. 

"Dan," Chloe calls, and Dan looks up from his phone, startled. She waves him over, and after looking around to make sure Lucifer's nowhere near, he walks up to her desk.

"Hey, Chloe. What's up? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just--" Chloe doesn't want to give Dan another excuse to be pissed at Lucifer, but God, it feels like everyone she knows is in on it but Trixie, and her daughter is _nine_. "Do you know what's up with Lucifer?"

"I never know what's up with Lucifer," Dan says, the curious look on his face replaced by something tense and angry in no time at all. "Why? Did he do something?"

"No," Chloe says, frustrated, because she doesn't know how to explain what everything going on with Lucifer feels like. On one hand, everything's great. They've talked about what they are, sort of, and decided to give it a shot. He hasn't run away to Vegas yet, so it's going well. On the other, Lucifer won't tell her this big secret that everyone but Dan seems to know. Obviously Charlotte and Amenadiel know whatever he's keeping from her, and if it was just them and Linda, she wouldn't even care.

But Maze had just shrugged and said she'd get it eventually when she brought it up last night, and Eve had giggled into her hand like she was having fun, and Ella had taken a huge swig of Eve's margarita rather than talk. Linda had looked mildly disappointed, but Chloe thinks it was directed to Lucifer and not to her, because Linda will usually just tell her if she's fucked up somehow. 

"Chloe?"

"Sorry," Chloe says. "I just...it feels like I'm missing something. And that would be fine if it didn't feel like everyone else knew. You know?"

"No," Dan says. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Chloe sighs. "Alright. Thanks, Dan."

"Sure," Dan says. "Let me know if you need to talk, okay?"

"Thanks, Dan," she says, still a little frustrated. How can she talk about this with him when she doesn't even know what _this_ is? Not to mention how Pierce is older than should be possible, somehow, how Eve is his mom ( _not_ his stepmom, apparently, since she talked about how painful having a child was to a horrified-looking Linda), how Lucifer can do so many things she doesn't understand.

Not to mention how Maze and Eve go along with the whole devil metaphor. Whatever it actually stands for, she hopes he tells her soon.

Lucifer opens the lab door and loudly calls, "Detective!", disturbing everyone in the precinct who isn't used to him. Chloe is not one of those people, and heads over to the lab.

"So what's up?"

"So," Ella says, sunglasses off. Her eyes are only a little bloodshot, and considering how much they'd both drunk last night, that's not bad. "I tested the blood we found under Diana's fingernails, but, you know, on the DL, right? Nothing in the system?"

"Yeah," Chloe says, nodding, trying not to let her guilt over Diana get to her.

"And obviously comparative analysis with human eyes won't be as good as comparative analysis with a computer, although less prone to crazy mistakes--but." Ella looks up at both of them with the bright, cheerful smile Chloe's missed lately. "I think it might be Pierce's."

Chloe stops. "Wait. You mean, like, actually Pierce's? Just his."

Lucifer looks over at it. "Miss Lopez, I think you're right."

"Uh, yeah, I know," Ella says, still beaming. "Guys! This means we got this!"

"I don't know," Chloe says. "I mean, this is _huge_ , thank you so much, Ella."

Ella nods appreciatively.

"What more could there be?" Lucifer asks.

"I mean, we know his organization is pretty powerful," Chloe says. "Definitely has a few judges on the payroll. Pierce wasn't even the only lieutenant involved, right?"

"Herrera," Ella says thoughtfully.

"So," Chloe says. "Ella, you have more connections than anyone I know."

"Untrue," Lucifer says at the same time as Ella says, "Aw, thanks!"

"Can you send this to as many other precincts as possible?"

"You got it," Ella says, smile back in full force. "I know at least Doctor Tanaka isn't on the Sinnerman's payroll. She's great, guys, you'd really like her."

"Cool," Chloe says. "Okay, then--when that's done, we can actually finish this."

It doesn't feel real, but Ella's smiling and Lucifer looks pleased but not in his normal smug way, just happy. Chloe's still thinking about Diana, and her body, and one of her last texts, about getting some evidence.

"Detective? Is there something wrong?"

"I just--I'm glad Diana didn't, you know, die in vain," Chloe says with a little nod.

"Oh," Lucifer says, and quiets after that, and Chloe remembers him saying that it wasn't the first time someone working for him has died. He looks a little worried, like he doesn't want her to be upset, but she doesn't understand why Lucifer isn't.

She doesn't understand a lot about him, these days.

* * *

The rest of the day is uneventful. There's a murder, because when is there _not_ a murder in LA, but they find the murder weapon while witnesses are still at the scene and someone bolts and Dan tackles him and the guy confesses as he goes down, so it's not one of the harder cases they've worked. Chloe's grateful the guy doesn't have a chance to kill anyone else, especially since his beef seemed to be with literally all women, but there's nothing to distract her from the weird tension she's been feeling all day.

Lucifer starts the day with his normal banter, making jokes about the victim's sex life (or lack thereof, in this case), but stops as the day continues. He keeps looking over at her, anxious and confused, and she can't stop thinking about how easily she can read him and how, despite that, there's so much she doesn't know. That he isn't telling her.

After they take the suspect into the interrogation room, Lucifer pulls Chloe aside before she can go in to take confession.

"Lucifer?" she says, confused. Dan goes into the room instead, looking back at her with a sympathetic expression she privately thinks of as the _sorry Lucifer's the way that he is_ expression. 

"Are you alright?" Lucifer asks. "You've been quiet all day."

"Yeah," she says. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just..." She trails off.

"Detective?"

"You told me you'll tell me what's going on?" she asks, hating how her voice turns up into a question at the end.

"I don't lie, Detective," he says, leaning away from her a little.

"I know," she says. "I know, I just--everyone knows but me."

"Well, Daniel doesn't," Lucifer says.

Chloe groans. "That's--okay. Okay."

"It doesn't seem okay," he says, looking down at her with his brow furrowed.

"It's not," she says, sharp and angry. "But--I'm working on trusting you, okay, it's just hard when the fact that there's some big secret I don't know keeps getting thrown in my face."

Lucifer looks away from her, and she can see the tension in his shoulders but it's hard to tell why it's there when she can't see his face.

"Well, Detective," he says, and his tone is distant. "If you still need to _work_ on trusting me, perhaps I should stop throwing that fact in your face."

"Lucifer, that's not what I'm saying," she says, half-upset she's upset him, half-annoyed he's not listening. He storms out without listening to her, though, so it's not like she has a chance to explain what she actually means.

"So," Ella says. "Not going great?"

"No," Chloe says tersely.

"Go after him!" Ella says. 

"He's my ride back," Chloe says.

"Well," Ella says. "I can take my lunch break early. You can skip out and pretend you're just doing research or something. I'll give you a ride."

Chloe nods. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Lucifer and I are long overdue for a talk. A real one."

"Yeah, you're telling me!" Ella says. "It feels like it's been at _least_ four months. Maybe more. I mean, come _on_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES that last line is a reference to when i first published this fic. sorry for the long break quarantine just fuckin hits weird man!!! i've teased this long enough so i PROMISE next chapter is mostly just an actual open conversation between the two. i have no clue when i'll publish it because time isn't real during this pandemic but when it's there...it's getting over their emotional repression time. maybe. i said they'd talk i didn't say it'd go well


	21. uncompromising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait! finals season and quarantine have been extremely rough for me!

In contrary to what the last few months of her life might suggest, Chloe's not usually an anxious person. She makes decisions and she doesn't overthink them. Before she makes a decision, sure, she'll overthink it to hell and back. (She's carefully avoided using that saying in front of Lucifer.) But she doesn't usually look back on her mistakes and obsess over them.

Lucifer, a study in contradictions onto himself, makes her obsess over everything.

Part of it is that he's sort of a mystery, and she likes solving cases. It's not _good_ that she thinks of her partner as a mystery, but in her defense, he does actually have a big secret that he won't tell her. Plus, after Dan and Palmetto and Pierce being a literal criminal mastermind, she has some trust issues, possibly.

"Chloe."

"What?" Chloe startles, looking over at Ella.

"You, like, completely zoned out for the entire drive," Ella says. "We're here."

"Oh," Chloe says. She should move to get out of the car, go past the bouncer, finally talk with Lucifer. She should do all of those things, but she sits and waits instead. 

"Chloe," Ella says. "Look, it's gonna be okay! You two are, like, basically meant for each other. Or, actually, that's--you two are good together. Plus, if he doesn't tell you now, I'm gonna kick his ass."

Chloe laughs, as much out of surprise as amusement. "Ella, you've seen how strong he is."

"Doesn't matter," she says with confidence. "You're family, Decker, that's what we do!"

"Okay," Chloe says. "Thanks, Ella."

She opens the car door, about to head out, when Ella grabs her arm. 

"Still," Ella says. "Hear him out, okay? Really listen."

"I will," Chloe says, a little confused.

"I mean it," Ella says, uncharacteristically serious.

"Okay," Chloe says.

"Good!" Ella's back to full cheer, but Chloe can tell it's a little difficult. "I'll rush back if you need to, like, talk. Promise."

"Okay?" Chloe says.

Ella lets go of her arm, finally, and looks after her as she closes the door and walks into Lux. (Chloe looks back, to check.)

The bouncer lets her in with a little nod of acknowledgement, and the line (somehow always there, even though it's close to noon) doesn't even get annoyed anymore. She's known here. She's home here, in a weird way. Maybe not _here,_ she thinks, looking at the club. She might feel comfortable enough to come downstairs in sweatpants and a T-shirt, but this isn't home. Home is upstairs, with her books in the fancy bookshelves and Trixie's things ending up everywhere and Lucifer pretending he doesn't know how Trixie's drawings keep ending up on the fridge.

Lucifer's sitting at the piano when the elevator doors open, stopping playing immediately.

"Detective," he says, tone careful but not angry.

"Lucifer," Chloe says. "I didn't like how we left things. Can we talk?"

"We are talking," Lucifer says, because he's a smartass.

"Lucifer," she says, annoyed.

"Right," he says, turning around. His expression is closed-off, but he's actually looking at her, so this is already going better than she imagined.

"I'm sorry about what I said," she starts, and he blinks at her, surprised. "I do trust you. I mean it, I really do, it's just hard not being in the know. And I'd like to say I can wait as long as you need me to, but I'm--I will wait," she says, because this isn't going how she pictured it at all. "I trust you. It just feels like you don't trust me."

That hurts to admit, but it's the truth.

"Chloe," he says, and she isn't expecting him to just say her name like that, so she looks away, the whole thing a little too much for her. "Of course I trust you. More than anyone."

"Then why won't you tell me?" she says. "God, Lucifer, I'm not trying to guilt you, but if you trust me, then why can't you tell me?"

"Because I don't think I could handle you leaving," he says, and they're both quiet for a second. Chloe can't really believe he's been that open, and from the wide-eyed look on his face, the way he won't meet her eyes, he can't either.

"Lucifer," she says, stepping closer, relieved he doesn't back away. "Lucifer, I know you. I may not know this, but I know you, and there's nothing that's gonna make me leave. I promise."

"How can you say that?" he asks, still not looking right at her.

"Because I trust you," she says, risking putting a hand on the side of his face. He still won't look at her, but he brings his own hand up to hold hers there. "I mean it. I don't like secrets, not after--everything, but I know you're not Pierce."

"Obviously," he says, finally looking at her.

"Come on," she says, smiling at him. He smiles back, a little hesitant. "You know, whatever you're keeping from me isn't gonna be nearly as bad as being the Sinnerman. Or Palmetto, even."

He looks away from her again, his grip on her hand tightening to almost-uncomfortable. "You don't know that."

"I do," she says.

"No," he says, moving her hand and stepping back. She wants to follow, but she doesn't want to push, either. "You don't."

"Lucifer, you're not a bad person," she tries, but he steps back again. "Lucifer."

"I don't lie," he says, and she wants to say she knows that already, but he keeps going. "I want you to remember that. I've never lied to you."

Chloe's not sure what she's expecting after that, but he steps back further, almost to the middle of the room. "Lucifer?"

She takes a step forward, finally, and he shakes his head. She stops. He won't _stop_ looking at her now, staring at her face like he's trying to memorize every detail. Chloe's trying to figure out what could possibly be so bad that he thinks she would leave. 

"Lucifer," she says, trying to reassure him, and he finally looks away.

"I won't--hold you to anything," he says, like it's hard to get the words out. "And I swear to you, I will tell you everything from now on."

"Okay--"

And just like that, Chloe's entire worldview gets thrown out the window.

Lucifer has _wings,_ and he's looking at her like he's terrified but that barely even registers. Her eyes are fixed on them, and they're _beautiful_. She sort of feels like she should start talking or crying or praying, or something, looking at them, but after just a second, she gets used to them. Mostly.

"Oh," she says. "Okay, I'm--"

She goes to sit down at one of the barstools, slumping against the bar for a second, staring at him.

"I really am the devil," he says.

"Your scars," she interrupts, and that's actually pretty fucking wild, isn't it, that she just interrupted Satan, and oh, holy shit, her partner's the devil. The actual devil. Not just her partner, her-- "Your scars disappeared, is that because."

She isn't able to finish the sentence, but he nods. "My wings came back. Unrelated to Pierce, as it turns out--" He stops himself, though, and Chloe can distantly appreciate the effort that takes, but she's just thinking.

"Maze is an actual demon," she says, not able to bring herself to look away from him, even as her eyes are starting to water. The wings are a _lot,_ even if she feels like she's handling it well. "And Pierce is--Cain? Eve is...oh, Jesus Christ."

"He's not here, as far as I'm aware," and Chloe laughs. She can't stop laughing, actually, because this is the strangest thing that's ever happened to her, and she brings her knees up so she can rest her head on them, still laughing. "Chloe, are you alright?"

"No," she says. "No, Lucifer, I'm losing my fucking mind."

"Detective," he says, and she looks up at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she says. "Lucifer, what's with the--" She pulls the necklace he gave her out of her shirt. The bullet feels heavier around her neck than it probably is. "I shot you, did you just--were you just manipulating me?"

"Of course not," he says, offended, but he's the _devil_ , so that's a bit rich. "I--"

"Amenadiel is an actual angel," she says. "Charlotte's--I don't know what's going on there--"

"Long story," he says.

"I don't--"

He takes a step towards her, and Chloe's reaction is pure instinct, getting off the stool and _away_ , towards the elevator. She hates that she did it as soon as she's finished moving, since he looks absolutely devastated. Despite everything, she didn't lie. She knows him. She trusts him, present tense. She thinks, anyway. It's hard to really process anything with wings around.

"Can you put them away?" she asks. "It's so hard to think, I can't--"

"I'll give you some space," he says, still looking like he's devastated and steps further away. It confuses her for a second, because there's only two exits, and one of them is the elevator she's standing in front of. But then he goes towards the window, and she sees wings, and she barely manages to piece it together before he's literally throwing himself off the balcony. (She sees him flying a few seconds later, and she breathes out a sigh of relief.)

Chloe stands against the elevator doors for what feels like hours. Eventually, she pulls out her phone and texts Ella.

I know now

_are you okay?_

No

_on my way_

This place is still hers, in a way, but it's a lot, looking at the balcony and remembering Lucifer throwing himself off, so she heads to their room, sits on their bed. Theirs, which is--God. She can't even just say or think God, anymore, because he's not a concept that some people believe in, He's real. And a shitty dad, a-fucking-pparently.

The elevator doors open, and Chloe hears Ella call, "Chloe?"

"In here," she says.

"Hey," Ella says. "Hey, I'm here."

"Good," Chloe says, and doesn't know what else to say.

"Where is he?" Ella asks.

"Um," Chloe says. "I don't know, he just--he said he'd give me space, and I don't know. Ella, what the fuck?"

"That was my reaction, too," Ella says. "I swore more in Spanish, though."

Chloe can picture it, too, Ella having her faith confirmed and just swearing rapid-fire like she does when they watch TV together. A normal response in a complete clusterfuck situation.

"I don't know what to think," she says. "Because I know him, or I _thought_ I knew him, but I don't--God, should I go to Rome? Do some research?"

"Yeah, that might be the worst idea you've ever had, actually," Ella says, smiling a little so the harshness of her words doesn't cut quite as deep. "You know, I think they maybe have a bias against him."

"He's the devil," Chloe repeats, as if saying it again will make it sink in. Lucifer is the actual devil. He hangs up drawings from her daughter on the fridge and won't answer how they got there. He ruled over hell for all of human history. They are, legally, married. "Am I the queen of hell now?"

"So I actually asked him that!" Ella says. "No, apparently Hell doesn't work like that."

"Okay," she says. "I think I'm gonna drink now."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Ella says, but doesn't move to stop her from getting one of the fancier bottles from the bar. She skips the glass, taking a swig straight from the bottle. It burns, and this _is_ a bad idea. 

"How'd you get over it?" Chloe asks. "I mean, you're--religious. I'm not and I don't know how to handle this at all."

"It was hard," Ella says. "Uh, I nearly punched Maze when she showed me her face. I think she appreciated that, honestly, but that's Maze for you."

"She has a different face?" Chloe asks, and takes another drink before Ella can answer.

"Yeah," Ella says. "It's pretty coo--that's not important right now. But Lucifer's still the same person we knew before, you know? He never lied to us."

"He never lies," she agrees, and something tense in her chest unfurls a little. Chloe may not know what to think about this whole--devil business, but she does know Lucifer. She said she did, and she meant it. "God, Ella, I can't imagine what I'd have done if I couldn't talk about this with you."

"Crash and burn," Ella says with a little grin. "But hey, I'm invaluable."

Chloe laughs, and puts the bottle down, pretending she doesn't notice Ella's little sigh of relief. "You really are."

"And hey, we got Pierce's DNA, too," Ella says. "So the Sinnerman case'll be over soon. You can really just take some time to process."

"He's Cain," she says. "I'm--what?"

"Yeah," Ella says. "Not gonna lie, I'm still thinking through that one. Like, what?" She draws out the last syllable, and Chloe laughs.

"Why is he even here?" she asks. "I mean, is LA, like, a supernatural hotspot? Top 10 destination cities for celestial beings?"

Ella makes a face. "Uh."

"There's more?" Chloe asks, and reaches for the bottle again. Ella grabs her arm.

"Yes," Ella says. "And I'd tell you, but honestly, thinking about it makes my head hurt and I don't fully get it anyway. I think Maze might. If you, uh, feel cool asking her."

"I think I do," she says. "I mean, it's not like she hid anything about what she is."

"Yeah, she pretty much told us she was a demon without doing a big reveal," she says. "Actually, I'm pretty sure she's gonna kick Lucifer's ass for not telling you sooner. And also for telling you without letting her know ahead of time."

"That sounds like her," Chloe says. "I'll talk to her after Lucifer gets back. I probably need to talk to him first. I, uh. Didn't react well."

"I mean, if you didn't try to grab his wings, you did better than me," Ella says.

"What?"

"He showed them to me and I just--lost it for a second. Angel wings are powerful shit! Maze tried to stop me and that's why I decked her. Or tried to. Girl is _fast_."

They talk about it for a little longer, about Ella finding out Lucifer was the actual literal devil and still mostly just being annoyed he hadn't told Chloe, about the ghost she sees apparently being the Angel of Death, which is _wild_ , about Maze and Eve being a way more fitting pair than Chloe had realized. The first sinner who really hadn't done anything wrong and a demon who cares more about her loved ones than most of the humans Chloe's met. They talk about Pierce and how fucking wild it is that their boss is Cain, and Ella explains that Charlotte isn't actually married to God, but she used to be _possessed_ by someone. Which is maybe even weirder, and Chloe needed the talk.

The problem is that Chloe feels way better now, actually wants to sit down and talk about this with Lucifer, but he's not back. He said he'd give her space, but it's getting dark outside. 

"I can't believe he's still avoiding you," Ella says. " _Cabrón_. Call him, I'm sure he'll pick up."

Chloe nods, suddenly a little nervous, but powers through it to hit dial. He's first on her contacts list, anyway. It goes straight to voicemail, though.

"He didn't leave his phone behind," she says. "Do you think he just ignored it?"

"I'll call," Ella says, and her face falls. "Straight to voicemail."

"Maybe it's just dead," Chloe says, but there's a pit in her stomach.

"I'll ask Maze to track him down," Ella says. "If anyone can do it, right?"

Chloe nods, but as the sky gets darker and darker outside, she can't help but think there's something really, really wrong. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for another cliffhanger but they TALKED so i'm not that sorry! also if, god forbid, i make you guys wait this long for next chapter you have my explicit permission to annoy me on my main tumblr (gilarroyo) or my writing tumblr (dryadfiona, a tumblr i should really update this fic on) about when i will update next! i need the external motivation in the weird reality of social distancing


	22. vulnerability

Hours later, Chloe's reached the level of silent, terrified focus she only ever got to when Trixie was in danger. Lucifer always seemed invincible, but somehow, finding out he's really the _actual_ Devil has made her worry even more, rather than less.

"You're still worried he's bad?" Ella asks when Chloe says that in response to "are you fine". Dumb question. She _clearly_ isn't.

"No," Chloe says. "I mean, I should be, I probably will be, but that hasn't--hit yet. I need to know he's okay."

"Amenadiel hasn't seen him," Ella says, tone all business, even if her voice shakes a little. "Neither has Linda."

Chloe's texting Maze, but she nods to acknowledge she heard.

Maze, do you know where Lucifer is?

_i DON'T track him down anymore you KNOW that decker_

Maze I need to know he's okay

_why wouldn't he be._

Maze always ends her texts with periods when she gets worried, as if to cover up the fact that she's actually feeling something.

I know now, and he just

Flew off

And he's not picking up his phone

_wait, what do you know?_

I KNOW, Maze

_oh._

_and we're, like, good?_

Yeah. I think, anyway, I still haven't really processed

_i don't know what that means_

_i'm gonna go track down lucifer_

Thank you, Maze

Maze doesn't respond, but then, she usually doesn't when emotions get involved. Chloe stares at the text chain, trying to remind herself that Maze is the best bounty hunter in the business and maybe has demonic powers Chloe doesn't know about. Ella frowns when she asks, which isn't reassuring, but Chloe's trying not to think about it.

Ella's talked to Eve (shakes her head _no,_ Eve hasn't seen him) and none of the officers Chloe's reached out to have seen him either. 

"There's someone we haven't asked," Chloe says hesitantly, after another hour passes and he's still not back. 

"Charlotte," Ella says. "She's, um, ignored me, mostly."

"Oh," Chloe says, because that's not who she'd been thinking of at all. "I'll call."

She's curled up by the arm of the Italian leather couch that's way more comfortable than she thought it was when she first walked in here, years ago. God. (Shit, she really has to stop using that as an expletive.)

The phone rings for what feels like ages. Eventually, though, Charlotte picks up and says, "Chloe?"

"Hey, Charlotte," Chloe says, trying to sound okay.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asks, instantly suspicious. Some things never change.

"Uh, have you seen Lucifer?"

"Lucifer?" she hears faintly along with a little groan. "What'd he do now?"

"I haven't seen him," Charlotte says. "Answer my question."

"Uh, I know," Chloe says.

"What?"

"I _know,_ " Chloe says, and Charlotte goes quiet. "Charlotte?"

"Wait a second," Charlotte says, irritated. "Okay. Go on, talk."

"Look, he told me, and I haven't seen him since," Chloe says. "I'm worried."

"I haven't seen him," Charlotte says. "Is that it?"

"Is it?" Chloe says. "I mean, you were his mom, or--whatever, do you not care?"

"That wasn't me," Charlotte hisses, venomous and dark in a way Chloe almost wants to say reminds her of pre-second-near-death Charlotte. (Which is to say, a Goddess? Go--shit, this is getting confusing.) "And even if I care, I nearly died because of this--celestial nonsense. And honestly...that would have been okay." She's a little choked up, and Chloe would feel bad, but she's still so goddamn worried about Lucifer. "But it's not just me I have to think about. Dan. My kids."

"Charlotte--"

"I hope you find him," Charlotte says. "But I am _not_ going to risk them. I'm guilty enough without that on my conscience."

The call ends with a couple beeps, and Chloe puts the phone down.

"Fuck," she says, and goes to grab a drink.

* * *

Chloe tries to sleep, at some point, when Ella passes out on the couch and even Chloe's having a hard time keeping her eyes open. It doesn't work, though, because the bed makes her throat tight and the couch makes her heart ache and they don't have any comforters good enough for her to just crash on the floor, like she used to when her trailers were more like cubicles, back in her acting days.

And that brings her down another train of thought, because the penthouse isn't her home without him and Trixie here, but it's still hers, kind of. Trixie's bed in a corner of the room with the best view, the books Chloe's been meaning to read stacked carelessly on the table, the TV that Chloe knows is logged into her Netflix and Lucifer's Hulu. Normally, it's comforting, the idea of pieces of her scattered around here. 

Right now she wishes it was the same as it always used to be, the place unapologetically his, him in the bed with one (or more) women (and men). Sure, it'd hurt like a bitch, seeing that, but it'd mean he was okay.

* * *

Sleep doesn't come easily and isn't restful, and Chloe wakes up on the couch with a crick in her neck and a blanket around her. She hears a voice that isn't Ella's, and jolts up before realizing it's just Eve.

"Eve?" Chloe mumbles, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Thought I'd try and help," Eve says, wandering around the apartment cleaning. "And since I don't have Maze's talent for bounty hunting, I figured I could at least keep you guys up on your feet while you're here."

"Oh," Chloe says. "That's...really thoughtful of you."

"I try to be," Eve says with a little grin.

Chloe eats breakfast with Ella, whose hair is sticking completely up on one side. She doesn't do anything when Chloe gestures to it, though, so Chloe's decided to ignore it. Then it's back to it. Amenadiel still hasn't seen him, Linda still hasn't seen him, Charlotte has sent a terse text that vaguely implies worry. Trixie's texted, too, asking if Chloe or Lucifer or both are picking her up from school today, and Chloe nearly breaks down at it.

Maze hasn't texted, which is either worrying or a good sign, and Chloe's anxiety can't decide which.

"I hate this," Chloe says unnecessarily, and Ella nods, busy looking down at the window as if angels flying away leaves forensic evidence. (Actually, there was that feather with Amenadiel.)

"Me too," Eve says. "C'mon. Take a break."

"I have to find him," Chloe says, a little colder than she should be.

Eve doesn't seem bothered, though. "You're gonna burn yourself out. Take a break."

There is logic in that, even if Chloe _really_ doesn't wanna hear it, but finding Lucifer is way more important than her pride, so she nods, puts the phone down, and awkwardly sits.

"Damn, girl, Maze wasn't kidding when she said you don't know how to have fun," Eve gently teases. "Look, what shows do you like?"

"I don't really get a chance to watch a lot of TV," Chloe says. "Uh, Lucifer made me watch all of _Bones._ Trixie likes HGTV."

"I love HGTV," Eve says conspiratorially. "Maze pretends she hates it and then comments on every decision the homeowners make."

"I _know,_ right?" Chloe says, smiling involuntarily at the memory of Maze halfway across the house, angrily saying that of _course_ House 2 is the obvious choice, how could these dumbasses pick House 3?

"She really likes hot tubs," Eve says, and Chloe waits for the _Hot Tub High School_ joke that never comes. Hm. Either Eve thinks through more than Chloe thought or Maze hasn't told her. "Uh, we were talking about maybe finding a place sometime."

"You and Maze?" Chloe says, surprised. "I thought you just started dating a couple months ago."

"When you know, you know," Eve says with conviction, then frowns a little. "Actually, no. I mean, I _do_ know. You know, it's just--I didn't fit with Adam, and clearly I didn't fit with Lucifer, since you do." Chloe shifts uncomfortably, but Eve continues, no animosity on her face. "And I think I fit with Maze. She makes me happy and I hope I make her happy. But I don't want to be wrong again."

"Sometimes you have to take it on a leap of faith," Chloe says. "I mean, I'm probably gonna freak out about this whole celestial thing once Lucifer's safe and--oh, holy shit, you're _Eve_."

"Yup!" Eve says.

"You're, like, my great-great-grandmother?"

"Not exactly!" Eve says. "Uh, two people aren't enough for a new species to form, especially since I only had sons, so God had to make more people."

"Why don't people know that, then?" Chloe asks, and she and Eve talk about the Bible as the propaganda Lucifer always claimed it is for a few minutes more, and when Chloe's phone does eventually go off, it startles her. "Oh."

"Told you you needed a break," Eve says with a wink that's _probably_ not meant to be as flirtatious as it comes off. "But back to it."

The text is from Dan, offering to pick up Trixie. Chloe replies yes, that's for the best.

_Are you okay?_

I mean, no

Have you told Trixie?

_That Lucifer's missing? No_

_Look, you know I hate the guy, but if you need me to look, I can help_

For all his faults, Dan is a damn good investigator when he cares to be, and Chloe's tempted to tell him yes, they need his help, but she remembers Charlotte saying "I'm guilty enough".

No, that's okay, we'll find him

Tell Charlotte I say hi

Dan doesn't respond after that.

* * *

Linda shows up at some point, and Chloe realizes, oh, holy shit, she's pregnant, and then comes the realization that oh, holy shit, she's having an angel baby, and Eve's delighted congratulations and Ella's baby-shower-planning just makes Chloe all the more melancholy.

"You okay?" Linda asks, looking through the arch to the bedroom.

"Yeah," Chloe says, doing absolutely nothing in the corner.

"Little too much domestic bliss for you?" Linda says knowingly.

Chloe groans. "I'm sorry. I'm being really rude, I just--"

"Your feelings make complete sense," Linda interrupts. "Probably hard to hear about angel-human couples being happy right now."

"So you and Amenadiel are--"

"Sort of," Linda interrupts, frowning a little. "We're going slow. For Maze's sake more than ours, but still."

"Okay," Chloe says, even though she doesn't fully get it. "Do you have any idea why Lucifer would have done this?"

"He does tend to avoid his problems," Linda says. "But...Chloe, I don't want to worry you, but I don't think he'd do this."

Chloe nods, throat suddenly tight. "That's what I thought too."

"Listen, I'll get Am--"

"You've seen him?" Ella says, sudden and loud in the other room.

Chloe half-runs into the other room to look at Ella, who's smiling disbelievingly. "Who is it?"

"Candy," Ella mouths, and damn, if _that_ doesn't feel like a punch to the gut. "No, not like that."

Ella puts the phone on speaker, and Candy says, voice missing its usual saccharine cheer, "Look, we just got daydrunk and ate a bunch of ice cream. I'm in LA for the week. But I convinced him to go talk to you before he left."

Some part of Chloe is relieved that he didn't run out on her and get married, but most of her just thinks _then he's not where he meant to be_.

"Did you see Maze, by any chance?" Chloe says, voice monotone in a way that Eve and Linda both glance at her about.

"Yes, actually!" Candy says. "She was skulking around my house."

"So she's already on the trail," Eve says with a wide smile that's sweet, even if Chloe can't focus on that right now.

"I'll let you know if I see him again," Candy says. The line goes dead, but it's more than they had before.

"Who could keep Lucifer from here?" Eve wonders out loud, and Chloe pulls out her own phone and hits a number that used to be on speed dial.

It only rings once. "Chloe?"

"Marcus," Chloe says, letting as much of her worry as she can stomach out through her voice. "Have you seen Lucifer?"

"No," Pierce says, easily, and Chloe doesn't trust it at all. "Is everything okay?"

"Um," Chloe says, letting herself get a little emotional. Eve won't look at her, and Chloe can't quite bring herself to feel bad. "Not really? Look, we had a fight, but he hasn't been back all day, I'm really worried."

"I'm sorry, Chloe," Pierce says. "Want our officers out looking?"

"Maybe?" Chloe says. "I don't--if he's just with, uh, other people, I don't want to make a big deal of it."

Ella glares at her, but Chloe shakes her head. She's trying to manipulate a criminal mastermind who's in love with her and also Cain, not cast doubt on Lucifer's character.

"Well, I can come help," Pierce says, something hopeful in his voice that Chloe thinks might actually belong there.

"Thank you," Chloe says. "Marcus, thank you."

"Of course, Chloe. I'm always he--"

Suddenly he goes quiet, and Chloe's about to wonder if this whole Sinnerman business is over and not even at their hands when Maze says, "Hey."

"Maze?" Eve perks up. "I thought you were tracking Lucifer."

"Talk," Maze says to someone. "Ugh, yeah, I was, he's just being stupid. Oh, wait--"

The line goes dead, but it's more than they've had all day, and Chloe slumps in relief.

"He's okay," Chloe says. "Or, mostly okay. Maze found him, he was with Pierce."

Eve and Ella both woop and Linda smiles in relief where she's sitting on the couch.

Only a few minutes later, the elevator doors _ding_ open behind them, and Maze says, "Can someone help me with him?"

Chloe whips around, and Lucifer's _back_ , hair mussed and covered in cuts but alive, even if he has to slump against Maze's side. She should be careful, but she runs full-tilt at him instead, throwing him into a hug.

He hisses in pain, and Chloe says, "Sorry. I'm sorry, you just--I'm so glad you're okay."

"You are?" Lucifer says, looking down at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Yeah," Chloe says. "Yeah, of course I am."

He smiles at her.

"Look," Maze says. "I'm gonna take Eve and Ella and Linda out of here, and you two are gonna talk, because so help me, God, I am sick of dealing with you two _pining_."

"Maze--" Lucifer says.

"Look--" Chloe says.

"No!" Maze interrupts. "You're both so stupid! Just talk!"

"You remembered my name," Ella says happily.

"That's not how I'd have given that advice, but it's the advice I'd have given," Linda adds from where Eve is helping her up.

Chloe's sure her face is bright pink, but she's still smiling, so happy that he's okay. "Okay."

"Good," Maze says. "I mean, holy shit, both of you are so--"

"Yes, thank you, Mazikeen," Lucifer says, cheeks flushed, and Chloe can't stop looking at his face. He's here, he's okay, they're okay. Probably. He hasn't let go of her hands, at least.


	23. welcome home, lucifer

"Lucifer, what happened?" she says.

"Pierce, who else?" he says, still just looking at her face. Chloe notices the way that he's basically supporting his weight by keeping his hands on her shoulders, so she helps his arm around her shoulder and helps him to the couch. He stumbles a little, which worries her. What could hurt the Devil?

"What, he kidnapped you?" Chloe stays tucked into his side on the couch, and he looks back at her. She thinks it's more confusion than "get away from me". She hopes it is, anyway. He doesn't move his arm off her shoulder, so she's pretty sure she's good. 

"Yes," he says, annoyed. "I went to Candy's to--well, talk about you." Chloe nods, since she'd figured that out by now. "And I ran into Pierce on my way back."

"She said she'd convinced you to come back," Chloe says. "I'm glad."

"So you said," he says. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she says.

"With me?" he clarifies. "Is this--denial? Repression? I admit, I don't know what the terms the doctor uses means, but..."

"Lucifer," she says, and presses a hand to his face. "I'm fine with you. I'm more than fine with you. I mean, I'm glad Ella was here to talk me through the initial freak out, I don't think I'd have been as fine without her here. And I have a _million_ questions." He chuckles, finally relaxing a little. "But I care about you, Devil or not."

"Will wonders never cease," he says, soft like that conversation in Forrest Clay's house that kickstarted this whole thing. Chloe smiles at him, and he smiles back, wincing as the muscles (probably, she doesn't know angel anatomy) tug one of the cuts on his face. 

"Did Pierce do this?" she says, trying to keep her tone controlled. She hates seeing him hurt.

"Do you remember that blade?"

"The--it started with a K."

"The _kladenet_ ," he agrees. "It's a type of blade. I'm fairly certain it was Maze's at some point, actually. It's celestial in origin, so it can hurt me."

"I've seen you get hurt before, though," Chloe says, thinking. "I mean--" She puts one of her hands up to her necklace, the bullet feeling heavier than it probably is. "What, are bullets just fast enough to hurt you anyway?"

"No," he says. "I, uh. I'm only vulnerable when I'm close to you."

"To me?" she asks. "That--what? Why?"

"Detective," he says, and shifts away from her. "I--do you remember? When I left?"

"Out the window?" she says, trying not to get worried and failing. "Yeah, it was pretty memorable. Thanks for the heart attack."

"No," he says. "To Vegas."

Chloe swallows and nods. "Of course I do."

"You're a miracle," Lucifer says.

"Thanks," she says, confused. "But what--oh. You don't mean that as a compliment, do you?"

"No," he says. "I don't--my father intervened so you would exist."

"Why?" she asks. "I mean, I'm a cop, I'm nothing special."

"To put you in my path," Lucifer says, and Chloe blinks. "I think, anyway. No one knows what my father's capable of, as Dr. Linda so often reminds me."

"Why do you think that?" Chloe asks. "I mean, you told me about Amenadiel being your father's favorite was in a book. Is there something like that about me?"

"No," Lucifer says. "It just--makes sense."

"Oh," Chloe says. "That's really weird."

"Which is why I left," he says. "I didn't--know if your feelings were genuine."

"They were. They are," she corrects, and he smiles again, a little melancholy. "Why would you think they're not?"

"Because my father could just be manipulating you," Lucifer says, agitated, and sits up, wincing again, putting a hand to his side. "That's why I left. To give you your choice back."

"I don't _think_ I'm being manipulated," Chloe says. "Lucifer. Look at me." He does, looking more open than Chloe's ever seen him. "Look. I'm choosing to stay with you, even if maybe it's because your father is pulling the strings. And I l--" She takes a deep breath. "I care about you too much to give it all up on the off-chance it's God." She says it as casually as she can, which isn't very, considering she didn't even believe in God until a few hours ago. 

"Chloe," he says. "I never expected you to--" He cuts off.

"What?" she asks quietly.

"To accept me," he says.

"Is that why you didn't tell me for so long?" Chloe asks, moving a little closer. 

"I--yes," he says. "I didn't want you to see me as a monster."

"I could never see you that way," she says. "I know you. I told you--at this point, you either trust me or you don't. And you showed me you trust me, so." She trails off, not sure what to say. "You're way too important to me."

Lucifer reaches out and puts a hand on her face, running his thumb along her cheekbone. He doesn't say anything, but looks--well. Happier than she's ever seen him.

"So. Do angels need some sort of special healing for cuts, or can I just use what we have in the medicine cabinet? Oh, wait, that's how you got better so quickly!"

"Special healing?"

"You being the Devil," she says. "Or...you had wings, not horns."

"I don't know where that misconception came from," he says, annoyed. Chloe remembers a dream from back before he left for Vegas and tries to keep her face neutral. Based on the confused expression on Lucifer's face, she's not succeeding. "Or the goat thing, for that matter. But yes, I heal much more quickly when you're not around."

"So that's why you wanted me gone," Chloe says, pleased at putting together another piece of the puzzle. 

"Not gone," he says. "Just...away, for awhile."

"You know, things would've been much easier if you told me the truth ages ago," she says.

"I don't know that I would have if you hadn't..." He trails off. "You were...patient with me. You trusted me, even though you didn't know. How could I not tell you after that?"

Chloe smiles. She's not sure exactly what to say to that. "Come on. I'm gonna clean your cuts."

Ignoring Lucifer telling her a rag and something on the top shelf will work, she grabs something from the first aid kit she brought from her old place. She pauses when she thinks that. This really has become home to her.

Unsurprisingly, Lucifer's a bit of a wimp when it comes to her cleaning his wounds. She doesn't tease him, though, even if she kind of wants to, because honestly, some of the cuts on his face are _rough_.

"Will these scar?" she asks.

"If they do, I'll tear Pierce's limbs off myself," he says, instantly horrified.

"I _mean_ , do angels scar?" she says, laughing a little.

"Oh. Not usually. Even blades from celestial wounds have to be...severe, to cause a scar."

"Like your wings," she says quietly, unsure if it's a sore spot or not.

"Yes," Lucifer says. "It's a quick process, but...an involved one."

"They came back," she says. Part of her wants to ask to see them again, but Ella told her about the power that angel wings have, how even a feather put Ella into a frenzy for _weeks_. "Is that, um, normal?"

"It's funny," Lucifer says, pulling away from the disinfectant a little. "When I imagined you finding out, I never imagined you quizzing me on my physiology."

"Sorry," she says, moving her hand away. "I'm just curious."

"No, I don't mind," he says, holding her wrist, keeping her close. "It's--nice to see you're not afraid."

"I'm not," Chloe says. "I told you, I know you."

"And I you," he says, letting go of her hand. She doesn't pull further away, though, just continues cleaning his cuts with a small smile on her face.

After a few silent minutes, all the cuts on Lucifer's face have been cleaned, and she's pretty sure none of them need to be bandaged. "All right. Where are the rest?"

"What do you mean?" he says.

She pauses. "Hey, is your honesty thing something you _have_ to do or choose to do?"

"No, I just don't lie," he says.

"So I can call you on when you're not honest with me without forcing you to tell the truth?"

He doesn't answer, for a moment, which she's pretty sure is a yes.

"Lucifer, you could barely walk when Maze brought you back," she says. "A cut on your face wouldn't do that."

He sighs, and pulls back his jacket. There's a deep gash there; Chloe can see bone. She swallows the instinctive revulsion that comes with seeing an injury that bad, taking a deep breath to ground herself. (You get used to it, as a homicide detective, but it's different when it's someone you love.) 

"I really don't want to leave you, but would that be best? I don't want you to be in pain." She reaches a hand out but stops herself from touching it. Angel or whatever, she's sure that would still hurt. 

Lucifer hesitates. "I...would rather you stay, but I won't keep you."

"Even if you won't heal?" she says, tearing her gaze away from the gash. 

"I can handle pain," he says, without any bravado whatsoever.

"Okay," she says. "Come on, I'll help you to bed."

"My, Detective," he teases. "How forward."

She rolls her eyes, even if he can't see it where she's holding him up. "It'll be easier to bandage your cut if you're lying down. I don't really think you're up for much of _anything_ right now, anyway."

"I'd figure out a way," he says, this time all bravado. 

They go slowly up the stairs, and Chloe half-drops him onto the bed. (He's too tall, Jesus. Amenadiel, too, are all angels like that? Maybe it runs in the family.) He lands with a little _oof,_ like all the air got knocked out of his lungs. "Lie back. I'm gonna grab the first aid kit again."

She goes back into the living space, looking at the elevator with no lock and thinking about Pierce for a second, wondering if she should block it off. Still, the Devil bleeding to death in their bed is probably more important right now, so she goes back to the bedroom.

"This is gonna hurt quite a bit more," she warns as she walks back in. Lucifer's taken his shirt off, and the gash really is awful. She sucks in another grounding breath.

"You're gonna have to tell me where you keep your extra sheets," she jokes, but it gets caught in her throat when she catches another glimpse of bone. "God, Lucifer."

"It is his fault, in a way," he says. Chloe doesn't know how to deal with that family drama just yet, so she kneels down next to him on the bed. The first press of disinfectant against the cut has him full-on flinching away, and she mumbles out an apology.

It's excruciatingly slow-going, and she's pretty sure Lucifer's white-knuckled grip against the sheets is the only thing keeping him from moving away again. When she's done, though, it does look better, and bandaging it is second-nature. Living with Maze teaches survival skills.

Lucifer gets up, only a little shaky, and looks at it in the mirror. "Detective, you can hardly tell I've been stabbed."

Chloe, looking down at the bloody sheets, says, "No, I'm pretty sure you can still tell."

He points to what she'd thought was just a wall, and she pulls at it to reveal a closet. Inside are sheets, cleaning supplies, things altogether too normal for the aesthetic of the penthouse. It's humanizing. Or--nah, she'll just stick with that.

Lucifer moves as if to help her, and she shakes her head. She lives with a kid, she can change sheets easily, and he got _stabbed_ earlier today. The mattress cover is pretty rough, too, but the mattress beneath is okay. Or as okay as it'll ever be, considering. She goes to join him in the main room. He's drinking, which normally she'd be annoyed with him about, but hey, he's the Devil, maybe alcohol affects him differently.

She sits down next to him, and he puts an arm around her almost without thinking. He looks a little surprised for a second, but doesn't move. 

"Are you okay if Trixie comes back tomorrow? Or do you want her to stay at Dan's while you heal?" she asks.

"Was the child worried?" he says.

"We didn't tell her," Chloe says. "I wasn't sure if you were just--you know. Running away again."

"I won't," he says, voice heavy like a promise. "I swear to you."

"Good," she says quietly, looking up at him. It's probably just the dim lighting, but the cuts on his face already look better, even the really nasty gash on his cheek. She reaches up, places a hand on the other side of his face, and gently pushes his head so he's looking at her.

"Detective," he says, quiet enough that she almost can't hear him.

She pushes herself up a little and kisses him. It doesn't feel differently than any of the other times they've kissed, even though she _knows_ , now. And sure, she'll probably have a freakout with Linda and Ella one night, drunk out of their minds on something they got from Lux for free, but for now, he's still her partner, and she still cares about him more than almost anyone.

When they pull away, they stay close, foreheads touching, and Chloe can feel the smile on his face before she opens her eyes to see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had to take so many breaks while writing this because i'm so. in love with them being happy. the fluff made my teeth hurt. also let's get a scene like this in season 5 PLEASE!!!


	24. xenogeneic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not sure if any of you have noticed the letter thing i've been doing in chapters since chapter 7 or something, but fuck, it was hard to figure out an x word that would fit. but i digress. sorry for the wait! lot of covid here, my job's crazy, and i didn't feel comfortable working on a fic about cops while marching for their defunding. BUT. here it is, finally!

They try to sleep in the actual bed, but the coppery scent of blood is a little overwhelming, still, so they crash on the couch. It's not exactly comfortable, but she'd been up for ages and he'd nearly died, so they fall asleep before it really becomes a problem.

The sliding open of the elevator doors isn't that loud, but Chloe bolts up anyway, on edge from dreams about Pierce/Cain and kladenets and Lucifer throwing himself out of a window. She doesn't have her gun nearby, and she's about to curse herself or put herself in between Lucifer and the door or both when she sees it's just Maze.

"Hey," she says, moving slowly, like she recognizes Chloe's worry. She'd say it's oddly conscientious, but Maze has always been good at the life-and-death stuff. Eve is with her, and smiles at Chloe. Lucifer doesn't stir, so Chloe puts a finger to her mouth and sits up, stretching.

"You slept in your jeans," Eve says, cheerfully judgmental.

"Yeah," Chloe says, not feeling up to explaining the 'I might have to get up and move' instinct. "We were, uh, pretty tired."

Eve nods and leaves it at that. "So! What's the plan?"

She's quiet, thankfully, but Chloe still doesn't exactly get it. "What?"

"To take down Cain," she says. Her smile drops a little, leaving a determined expression on her face that seems far-too-serious for the party girl Chloe's come to know.

Then again, Eve is thousands of years old and they're talking about stopping her son, at best. Maybe it isn't that weird.

"Uh," Chloe says. "I--I honestly don't know."

"Right," Eve says. "I'll cook breakfast!"

"Maybe we just order in," Maze says, and Chloe grins at Maze's obvious attempt at diplomacy. Eve being a bad cook. Huh. Take that, misogynists, the first woman doesn't know how to either.

"I think we should get everyone here," Chloe says. "I don't--everyone should know what's going on. If someone gets left out, I don't...want them to be in danger."

Maze nods and starts making calls. Chloe lies back down, reaching for her phone. There's a breakfast place nearby that Trixie loves, and even if it's a little greasy for her taste, it's quick and she's ready to eat now.

The delivery guy walks in on Maze showing Eve a spear, Lucifer passed out on the couch (obviously recently bandaged), and Chloe smiling awkwardly at him. She tips an extra ten bucks. He doesn't comment on anything, but does hit the door close button with more force than is strictly necessary on the way out. 

"Linda's on her way with Amenadiel," Maze says after inhaling all of her bacon (and half of Chloe's). "Ella didn't answer."

"She's usually pretty good about that, though," Chloe says, furrowing her brow. "I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she is," Maze says dismissively, reaching for Eve's food. Eve smacks her hand away but hands her a piece of bacon anyway. "Girl can hold her own."

Chloe has no reason not to trust this, so shrugs and wills herself to relax. Breath in, hold it, exhale. 

Sure enough, Ella makes her way there before Linda and Amenadiel. "Sorry," Ella says. "Late night."

"Ooh," Eve says, raising one eyebrow.

Instead of refuting the insinuation by infodumping about Star Trek or goose care or whatever fixation Ella's into this week, she blushes and looks anywhere but at them.

"Wait, really?" Chloe says. Maze's mouth is open in unabashed delight.

"Maybe," Ella says, smiling a little, still not looking at them. "Yeah. Uh, yeah."

"Who's the lucky person?" Chloe asks. "Someone we know?"

Ella doesn't answer right away.

"You don't have to tell us," Chloe rushes to add, but Ella shakes her head.

"Nah, I just wanna wait till Lucifer's up. He'll get a kick out of it."

That piques Chloe's curiosity, and Maze has a predatory look on her face like she kind of wants to find out now, but they're technically here on important business, even if right now it feels like Tribe Night: Breakfast Edition. 

Linda and Amenadiel get to them a few minutes later. They all sit at the bar, sharing food and talking quietly, until they hear Lucifer stir.

"Morning," Chloe says, bringing him a drink and food that she'd kept safe from Maze the Devourer (as Ella jokingly called her, and Maze had said she won't respond to just Maze anymore, so that's fun). "How're you feeling?"

"Marginally better," he says, and Chloe's pretty sure the word marginally is doing some legwork there. He makes the slightest face at the food, but doesn't complain, and actually tries to steal some of Amenadiel's food once they all sit at the bar.

"It's like having breakfast with a bunch of children," Chloe mock-whispers to Linda, who laughs.

"So," Eve says again. "The plan?"

"For Pierce?" Lucifer says, face more serious than it normally is. It is her son, Chloe guesses. Eve nods.

The look that passes between them isn't romantic, or even particularly knowing, but one of familiarity. A little nod on Eve's end, Lucifer looking away. Chloe's not sure what it means, but Lucifer looks back to them, determined expression undercut by the bit of syrup on his face. Chloe wipes it off, and he blinks at her with a surprised look.

"Makes me nauseous," Maze says to Amenadiel, not even bothering to pretend to whisper. Amenadiel ignores her.

"Chloe, you were on the phone with him," Lucifer says, and Chloe furrows her brow.

"Yeah. How do you know that?"

"I was right there," Lucifer says with a shrug. At Chloe's horrified look, that he was so close without her knowing, he shrugs. "It fits his whole criminal mastermind thing. I'm not really surprised."

"Well. Yeah. We have the proof, though, will it matter?"

"Cain has disappeared before," Maze says. "And even if I might be able to track him down, he's disappeared before."

"No," Chloe says. "No, he--"

"We have to bring him to justice," Eve says, and Chloe nods.

"The proof is enough to get him in jail for life," Ella says, looking over a folder that Chloe thinks might be forensic evidence. "But we'll need a damn good lawyer to make sure he's in a prison he can't get out of."

The room goes quiet.

"We can ask," Linda says.

"She already said no," Lucifer says.

"We're not asking her to go up against him one-on-one," Chloe points out. "We're asking her to do her job as a DA."

"We'll still need a cop who isn't his ex-fiance to do the arrest if we don't want the case thrown out immediately," Maze says. At a few people's surprised glances, she says, "What? I watch a lot of procedurals."

"She likes the chase scenes," Eve says brightly.

"So...Dan," Chloe says with a sigh. "Which Charlotte won't go for."

"Maybe she will," Amenadiel says. "You need to have more faith."

"Poor choice of words," Lucifer says before his brother can continue. Chloe gives him an admonishing look, and he quiets down.

"She's terrified of death," Amenadiel says. "But she's trying to be good. She'll do what she can to get a murderer out of the way."

"So if we can convince Charlotte to prosecute and Dan to make the arrest, all we need is to make sure Pierce doesn't realize what's going on," Ella says thoughtfully.

"Which I can do," Chloe says thoughtfully. "I mean, as far as he knows, Lucifer and I just had a fight. Unless you told him something."

"Nothing revealing," Lucifer says. "Not that you know."

"Great!" Chloe says. "I mean, obviously I do know now, but we can use that to our advantage. If I call Pierce and say you used 'metaphors' as an excuse for running out, he'd probably meet with me."

"Without criminal goons, hopefully," Lucifer says, nodding his head thoughtfully.

Chloe nods, excited. "We can really do this."

"I can be there for backup," Maze offers, and Amenadiel nods his agreement. "Out of sight, obviously."

"I...can't," Eve says, with a small, forced smile. "I'm not a fighter."

"No one expects you to help," Linda says, and when Ella makes a face, Linda adds, "Not against your son."

Eve nods, and says, "I support you guys, I just--"

"He's your family," Lucifer says with a stiff nod. 

They start discussing the details--an abandoned warehouse full of art that's far enough from cops to not arouse suspicion, places Amenadiel can hide (Maze doesn't need extra help), places Ella can send the evidence while they lure Pierce into the trap. Chloe's got her hand in Lucifer's without even really thinking about it, doesn't even really notice until she sees Linda smiling at their hands, interlocked on the counter.

"Lucifer and I can go talk to Charlotte and Dan," Chloe says. "We're--family. Sort of."

Maze snorts. Eve elbows her. 

"But for now...we have a plan."

It's one weight off her shoulders and a new one on them, and she's not sure if she's relieved or terrified. Both, probably. That seems to fit the general theme of things.

Maze and Eve make their way out first; Maze wants to sharpen her knives, and Eve wants to finish watching _Nailed It._ Then Ella, who admits she has a date with Candy after Amenadiel asks (she feels bad lying to an angel, Chloe's pretty sure). Amenadiel goes to get the car ready for Linda, who's still only barely showing, and then it's Linda alone in the apartment with them.

"I'm happy for you two," she says with a smile that's warmer than Chloe really knows how to handle.

"Thank you, doctor," Lucifer says, just as awkward.

"I'll walk you out," Chloe offers, because Amenadiel isn't up yet and Linda's starting to look a little anxious.

They don't talk, but the mood is light as Chloe walks Linda from the elevator to outside, where Amenadiel is talking to the valet with pure confusion on his face.

"I have to go help him," Linda says fondly.

"Wait, uh. One--question."

"Is it about how to manage an angel-human relationships?" Linda says knowingly.

"I really wish you weren't so insightful," Chloe says.

"Comes with the job," Linda says with a little laugh. "Look. He's still the same person. This isn't brain surgery; it's okay that you're...different."

"Says the person who constantly reminds us she's not that kind of doctor," Chloe says.

"I'm not," Linda says. "But I took so many notes. If I had to know what xenogeneic means, I might as well use it in metaphors."

Chloe laughs and gives her a hug. "Stay safe, Linda."

"You too, Chloe."

* * *

Lucifer drives them to Charlotte's place. Chloe had told her they were coming, gotten a terse _Fine_. in response, and she's still nervous. 

"You're sure you're okay with telling Trixie?" Chloe asks, again.

"I don't want to lie to the child," Lucifer says, again. "If you think she can handle it, you know more about human offspring than I do."

"You know Trixie, she's a tough kid," Chloe says. Lucifer nods. "Besides, she's gonna figure it out at some point."

That feels like different territory, making promises they don't know if they'll be able to keep, so the rest of the drive is quiet, but Chloe takes Lucifer's hand and holds it the rest of the way.

When they get to Charlotte's place, Dan opens the door and immediately jerks back. "Wh--I thought it was just Chloe!"

"No, Daniel, package deal," Lucifer says, infuriating as ever. "What, are you afraid I'm gonna punch you again?"

Chloe recognizes the wide-eyed terror on Dan's face, though, and says, "Did she tell you?"

"Yeah," Dan says. "Yeah, she told me."

Lucifer tenses, cocky expression dropping almost immediately. "Oh."

"Did you--how long have you--"

"Like, a day," Chloe says. "It's fine, Dan, seriously."

"It is," Charlotte calls from somewhere in her apartment. "Just didn't want you in danger any longer."

"You're not going to like this conversation," Lucifer calls cheerfully, and Chloe sighs. She doesn't drop his hand, though.

Dan lets them in, though Chloe notices he keeps himself between Lucifer and Charlotte at all times. Based on the way Lucifer's grip has gotten a little tighter around her hand, he notices, too. 

"I'm not going to hurt Charlotte," Lucifer says, offended, when Dan actually lunges to put himself between the two of them.

"Dan, Lucifer's fine," Charlotte says. "Pierce shot me."

"Cain," Dan says, looking tired and confused. "You mean Cain."

"Whatever," Charlotte says, twitchy fingers the only indication that she's more worried about Dan's behavior than she's letting on. "Either way, Lucifer's an ally. He's the one who convinced me I wasn't crazy."

"And it really is real?" Dan says, voice small.

Chloe nods. "It is."

"Well," Dan says. "Shit."

Lucifer offers Dan his flask. To Chloe's surprise, Dan actually takes it and takes a swig. Then another.

"So," Lucifer says. "We need your--"

"Nope," Charlotte says. "Nice talking to you."

"Charlotte," Chloe tries, going for a subtler approach. "We're not asking you to take down Pierce directly."

Charlotte narrows her eyes, but doesn't say anything. 

"We just need you to prosecute him if we bring him in," Lucifer says.

"You're the best of the best," Chloe points out, and Charlotte sits up just a bit straighter, ego soothed. "And he can't even get mad at you for it; it's bulletproof evidence and also your literal job."

"Bulletproof? Let me see."

Chloe hands over Ella's folder, and Charlotte grabs it and starts reading, eyes skimming over the page quickly. "You know, Pierce threatened me when I was in the hospital," she says. It could be conversational if her grip on the folder wasn't white-knuckled. "Not directly, of course. Just told me he plans to do everything he can to protect his own."

A pause.

"I know what that meant," Charlotte says, tone distant, more focused on the evidence now. "You have _his_ DNA evidence? Along with all the rest of this?"

"Yes," Chloe says.

"Backe--"

"Backed up at a bunch of other precincts," Chloe says. "Ella made sure of it."

"Hm," Charlotte says. "This...might have a chance, actually."

It's high praise coming from her.

"But you can't make the arrest--no."

"Charlotte, it's this or--"

"Do _not_ get Dan involved in this celestial bullshit," Charlotte says, tone like ice, the way it is in the courtroom. Chloe almost wants to shrink back, as if she isn't an adult with the Devil sitting at her side.

"I'm already involved," Dan says, and Charlotte blinks in surprise, glances at him. "I'm with you. And if this is gonna get Pierce out of the picture, then...I'm in."

"Are you sure?" Chloe asks.

"Yeah," Dan says. "Fuck it."

"Can I have my flask back?" Lucifer says, sounding vaguely confused.

"Consider it reparations," Dan says, taking another swig.

Chloe laughs despite herself. Lucifer relaxes even as he starts to argue.

For the first time since this whole thing started, Chloe starts to think they might actually have a chance.


	25. you will never be god

Chloe's in a car with an angel at either side, a demon driving, and her ex-husband in the passenger seat.

It's, like, weirdly normal.

Lucifer and Amenadiel are annoying each other the same way Maze and Trixie do when they're in the backseat of her car, like siblings--though Chloe's fairly sure that Lucifer's using more force than Maze ever would, with Trixie. Amenadiel is pretending he doesn't notice, but hie eye twitches, giving him away.

Maze keeps turning the music back to rock and Dan keeps complaining. Sure, Dan's still tense, especially whenever someone actually says "angel" or "demon" or Lucifer says anything at all, but he turns back to talk to Amenadiel when the angel pointedly asks him a question, almost smiling.

"Is talking with Daniel actually distracting you?" Lucifer asks, flicking Amenadiel's head again.

"So, improv?" Amenadiel asks, loud enough that Chloe wonders about angelic vocal chords.

"I can't believe we're talking about this on the way to a set-up," Maze groans. "You're all _children_."

"Aren't you the one who had to move to the front seat after doing exactly what I'm doing?" Lucifer asks, always a shit-stirrer at heart.

Maze doesn't respond.

She's right, is the thing. Not about them being kids--Amenadiel's older than literally anyone Chloe's ever met, and also than her entire species. Possibly her entire planet. But it's a weirdly light atmosphere for what's happening.

* * *

It started like this:

Chloe called Pierce at 3:02am. She'd thought about a lot of things to make her tears convincing, about Trixie getting kidnapped and Lucifer getting kidnapped and the fact that there really is a hell, and a heaven, and about how Amenadiel told her her dad was proud of her before she made the call, and she'd had to just--stop and think about that. 

He picked up on the second ring, voice muddled with sleep, and the sheer familiarity of it makes her heart ache for a second. But he nearly killed Charlotte, he kidnapped Lucifer, he used her _daughter_ as a threat to keep Maze from killing him months and months ago.

"Chloe?" he said.

"Marcus," she says, and her stomach twists, at using someone like this, but she takes a breath, letting the feeling wash over her. "I'm sorry, it's late, I don't--"

"It's okay," he says. "Are you? Okay?"

It's awkward, stilted, probably entirely honest, and that's worse than if he'd been trying to manipulate her. At least then she wouldn't feel so guilty about it, even if she knows it's the right thing to do. 

"I don't know," she lies. "I--Lucifer came back, but he wouldn't tell me where he'd been."

"He wouldn't?" There's confusion there, mistrust, but also a hint of satisfaction. She presses the advantage, ignoring the way there's at least three supernatural beings with her eyes locked on her.

"No, he just told me about the--metaphors--" And it's easy to fake the annoyance, the rage, even, but she doesn't feel it, and Lucifer's shoulders relax, in the corners of her vision. "I don't--"

"Chloe," he says. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"It's selfish," she says, and she hears Mar-- _Pierce_ inhale, sudden, sharp.

"Still," he says, and it's the most emotional she's heard him where he wasn't lying to her. "I'm here for you."

"Oh," Chloe says, genuinely taken aback. It takes her a second to remember everything, the look on Maze's face when she'd told Chloe about Pierce threatening Trixie, and she's good. Well. Pissed off. But that's productive, at least. "I just--"

She takes a breath.

"I think I made a mistake," she says, and Lucifer looks away from her. Chloe can't help herself, getting up and taking his hand. He looks at her, and she smiles, reassuring, making a face when Pierce starts talking again. Lucifer grins, seemingly despite herself.

"I don't know what to say," Pierce says, guarded.

"Can we--" Chloe takes a deep breath. "I'm not--I won't promise anything. I can't. But can we--can we meet? Tomorrow?"

"Sure," Pierce says, quick, easy. "Where?"

"I don't know," Chloe says, fake fretting. "Um. Lucifer's got some--I don't know, work meeting tomorrow. With Maze and Amenadiel. I don't--" She lets out a quick, frustrated breath, and Maze grins at her, all teeth. She turns her face away, still holding onto Lucifer's hand, to keep from laughing. "We can meet across the street. I'll say I'm window shopping, or something."

"Okay," Pierce says, and the obvious hope in his voice makes her feel like shit, until she remembers--literally the world's first murderer. Nearly killed _several_ of her closest friends. Her family. She squeezes Lucifer's hand, harder than she needs to, to remind herself that he's there.

He squeezes back.

"See you--well, later today, I guess," Pierce says.

"See you," Chloe says, and hangs up. "I need a shower."

"Ooh," Lucifer says, but it's quieter than his usual teasing. 

"Party of one," she says, but she doesn't drop his hand. 

"Well, Decker, I'm impressed," Maze says. "You're a damn good liar."

"I'm...motivated," she says, and Maze nods, uncharacteristically serious. "You'll be there, tomorrow."

"We'll carpool," Amenadiel says, and Chloe laughs before realizing it's not a joke.

* * *

So here they are--Chloe walking into a building with dramatic white walls and art everywhere. Alone. It's weird, walking here without Lucifer at her side. She feels cold, almost, which is _stupid_ \--it's May in Los Angeles. But he'd grabbed her hands, paused like he wasn't sure what to say, and she'd leaned up, kissed him hard enough to bruise.

"See you in a bit," she'd said, and he'd looked down at her bullet necklace and nodded.

"Marcus?" she calls into the empty space.

"Here," he says, closer than she'd expected, and it's only her undercover training from almost a decade ago that keeps her from whirling around and going for her gun.

"Hey," she says, quieter than she'd meant to say it.

"Hey," he says.

"I really don't know what I'm doing here," she says, tries to make it sound like an embarrassed admission. Maze is skulking around upstairs, Amenadiel's nearby to slow time if things really go to shit, and Lucifer's--

She can't think about him, right now, not when her job is to stand here and be bait and get him distracted enough for Maze and Amenadiel to get the cuffs on Pierce. Sure, it'll be a suspicious case, but Charlotte's convinced she can smooth things over on her end, and Lucifer's more than charming enough to sway anyone else.

"I thought we were gonna talk," Pierce says, and she smiles, and he smiles back at her. Chloe can't believe she ever thought she was in love with him. She should feel worse, really, with her ex-fiance and the world's first murderer smiling at her like it's all he's ever wanted to do. Still, she mostly just wants to be done with this.

"I just--" Chloe sighs, taking a deep breath. "I thought--Lucifer told me he trusted me, but he won't tell me _anything_. Not anything real. It's all just metaphors."

"I noticed," Pierce says, and the commiseration in his voice is a bit rich, when he's _actually_ Cain.

"I don't think I should have married him," she lies, and he _should_ take a step closer, say something, even yell at her. 

Instead, he stops entirely, looks at her for a long, quiet moment, and says, "Is he listening?"

"What? No," she says, entirely honest, and she's gratified at the way his expression kind of--freezes, for a second, like he can tell she's telling the truth and he's played his hand too early.

"But you know," he says, and his voice shifts, sharper, almost crueler. She's probably imagining it, but damn. "Don't you?"

"Know what?" she says, and even as the words come out of her mouth, she knows it's too little, too late. 

Pierce turns, but Maze drops from somewhere far too high to really make sense, twisting just that bit further than a human spine would allow to bring him down. He rolls with it, and Chloe takes a few steps back.

Suddenly, the scene changes, and Amenadiel's got one of Maze's knives in his shoulder, Pierce holding it there, and there are gray feathers scattered everywhere. Maze snarls something in a language too guttural to be anything but infernal, a cut running down her face. Chloe turns to run--this is more than just out of her area of expertise, this is out of what she can conceive, and this time she almost feels time slow.

Her movements are like a dream, like she's moving through tar. But then things speed up again, and Amenadiel curses something in a language she doesn't know, and then Lucifer's there.

"Chloe," he says, and she reaches for him without even really thinking about it. 

Chloe's on the roof before she can even process that they're moving, and she's finally able to just _breathe_.

"Lucifer," she says.

"I have to go," he says. 

"No," she protests, even though she knows it makes sense. "Lucifer, _no_."

"Chloe," he says, a hand to her face, and she grabs his wrist as if she could really hold him there, if he wanted to go. He doesn't pull away from her, though, just smiles and says, "I have to keep my word."

"To him?" she says.

Lucifer shakes his head. "To you." Chloe's look of confusion must be obvious, because he reaches up and takes her hand from his face. "For better or worse."

And then he's gone, with an explosion of white feathers. There's a slight compulsion to grab them, but instead she starts to climb down.

Because sure, he's vulnerable when she's there, but Pierce has one of Maze's knives and whatever the shit the other blade was called, and she'd rather be there than not, if he can get hurt, if she can help.

When she gets down, Dan is waiting outside, looking a weird mix of constipated and terrified, and she doesn't spare him a second glance, just pushes past him.

Maze and Amenadiel are holding Pierce, and the lieutenant/criminal mastermind/first murderer looks like he isn't sure whether to be scared or defiant. Lucifer's standing in front of him, and Chloe can see the gold of the--kladenet? the whatever--in his hand.

"Lucifer," she says, and he doesn't turn to look at her.

"I thought you were a devil of your word," Pierce says, taunting, and Lucifer's arm twitches forward, the blade brushing the edge of Pierce's throat.

"Lucifer," she tries again, and when he turns to look at her, his eyes are red.

Part of her wants to stop, to run, to draw her gun, even, but it's just Lucifer. She knows him, she trusts him, she loves him, and she'll be damned if she doesn't try and help him now. (Maybe literally.)

"Lucifer, don't do this," she says. 

"Why not?" he says. "I'm the devil, remember?"

"You're so much more than that," she says, and he stops. The red in his eyes dims, a little.

Pierce tries to pull forward again, and Maze's grip is strong enough that he just dislocates his own shoulder. He cries out, but Lucifer doesn't look back at him, gaze fixed on her.

"If this was the only way to stop him," she says. "Then sure. We do what we have to. But Dan's outside. And he's just human, now."

She takes walks closer, and he doesn't recoil, doesn't stop her when she reaches a hand up and brings his arm away from Pierce. His eyes are back to normal now, dark, honest, fully his.

There's a beat of silence, and then he calls, "Daniel?"

Daniel walks in, sees the weird way they're all holding himself, then mutters something in Spanish.

"Lieutenant Pierce, you're under arrest for the attempted murder of Charlotte Rich--"

"Don't do this," Pierce says, and Chloe isn't sure which one of them he's talking to. "You gave me your word. Don't do this."

"I did," he says. "Who knows? You still have a few more decades. I still have time to keep it."

"You're just like your father," Pierce tries, and Chloe's never been more proud as when Lucifer barely reacts.

"If you're going to compare me to my father, you'll need to try harder than that," he says, and Chloe can't help but take his hand then.

There's paperwork they'll have to do, of course. Amenadiel has to explain why a therapist was helping to take down a lieutenant, and Chloe will have to explain their entire investigation to HR and to Internal Affairs and probably to a couple journalists, once the news breaks. But for now--

"You could never be God," Chloe says, once everyone else leaves, and Lucifer squeezes her hand, looks back at her with a smile she's come to think of as for her alone. "Let's go home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait. a LOT of shit has happened in my life. i hope you all enjoy the investigation climax of this fic, more emotional closure in the finale. ty for reading!


	26. zemirah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the wait, but! the final chapter is finally here! hope you all enjoy!

"So," Chloe asks. "Was there some big build-up to that confrontation that I missed?"

Lucifer doesn't answer, which almost certainly means yes. He hasn't let go of her hand, but it's not the white-knuckled grip when they're running for their lives; it's loose, relaxed, and it makes the knot of tension she hadn't even realized she was holding relax a little.

"I mean, calling you like God." Nope, still not used to it. "Seems like a low blow."

"For the past few--months? How long has it been?"

"Since what?" Chloe asks. There's still swarms of police around, so they can't just go home, and the sun beats down uncomfortably hot where they're sitting on the curb. Still, Chloe leans a little closer, and when he wraps an arm around her, quick and casual like he's not even thinking about it, she smiles a little. "Since Pierce came to LA? Since he shot Charlotte? Since we got married?"

"That," he says. "Anyway, Pierce has been trying to convince me that by not telling you the full truth, I'm as bad as Dad."

"That's...pretty fucking stupid," Chloe says, and Lucifer laughs.

"Well. Cain was never the brightest bulb. Not that Abel was other, mind you. Oh, but you'd know that, you met him."

There's a pause.

"What?"

* * *

They talk about things that feel like nothing even though they're of biblical importance for hours. The sun gets lower in the sky as Lucifer tells her about Maze and the Lilim and how an army of demons came to obey their first king. She tells him about the trials and tribulations of having her daughter's best friend be Maze and he nods as if the topics are even remotely of the same importance. Maybe they are, now.

By the time Ella walks up, it's dusk, and Chloe's prepared to hear that Pierce escaped, that they missed something, that they need to go back to step one. But Ella's smiling, tired and satisfied, and Lucifer squeezes her hand once.

"We got him," Ella says.

"Thank fuck," Chloe says. "Can we go? Are we good to leave? Do I have to answer any questions?"

Ella shakes her head. "Nah, girl, I got you. You guys can go home." She waggles her eyebrows, and Chloe suddenly can't look at Lucifer sitting next to her. "I mean, you guys have a lot to--talk about. Obviously that is all I was going to say."

"Right, okay, thanks, Ella," Chloe says, pulling Lucifer away. "C'mon. Let's go home."

"To the penthouse?" he asks, and for a second Chloe wonders why he even asked, because of course the penthouse, but--they've technically caught Pierce. They're--done. Technically.

But Chloe's tired of letting her fear drive this, so she takes a breath and says, "Yeah. Like I said, home."

Lucifer smiles at her, then, and even the little "aw" that Ella's making (still right next to them, c'mon, Ella, Chloe's kind of a private person) isn't enough to keep Chloe from smiling back.

They take the convertible, which Chloe didn't think was anywhere near here, but hey, gift horse and all that. She lets go of Lucifer's hand to get in the passenger side, but she keeps looking at him, leaning back against the seat.

He looks so much more relaxed. She hadn't realized how tense he was the whole day until now, now that he's not, and it's just--it's nice.

They should talk about something, probably. What does Pierce being arrested mean for their partnership? Is Lucifer still going to kill Pierce? He is a Devil of his word, after all, but even if he wants to die, it's hard to picture Lucifer actually going through with killing someone. A human, anyway. He'd mentioned Uriel, earlier, and his face had gone all closed off until she ran a thumb along his cheek and told him he didn't have to tell her anything he didn't want to.

The drive must be at least 20 minutes, but it feels like 5 when they pull up to Lux. Lucifer tosses the keys to the valet, and they walk through the club and into the elevator.

Chloe's not sure which one of them moves first, once the door closes, but it doesn't really matter, because her back's against the elevator wall and his hand is in her hair and God, fucking _finally_. She starts pushing his jacket off his shoulders before the door opens, and when he takes the smallest step back from her to pull it completely free, his eyes are dark, and she feels like they've been waiting for years to get here.

He cages her back against the wall, and Chloe drags him back down into a bruising kiss. He makes this _noise_ when she does, quiet and surprised and oh-so-pleased, and she wants him to make that noise again. A few times, actually. 

She moves her hand up to tug at his hair, just to see, and the noise he makes is drowned out by cheerful chirp of the elevator doors, which is absolutely unforgivable, so she'd better try again--

Except Lucifer steps back from her as soon as the doors start to open, and she blinks, confused, until she hears Trixie say, "Hey, Mom! Did you guys catch the bad guy?"

And Lucifer's looking at her with this _smirk,_ like he remembered Trixie was there, and part of Chloe wants to tell Trixie to head downstairs and talk to Maze while Chloe pins Lucifer to the nearest flat surface. The bed, the piano, she's not picky.

But it is--nice, seeing her daughter, and the warmth in Lucifer's eyes is gentler than she would've ever expected, so she says, "Yeah, Trixie, we got him."

"Great!" Trixie says. "Uh, Lucifer, you're still gonna help me with my science homework, right?"

Lucifer looks at her then, one eyebrow raised in question, and she nods, heart in her throat.

"Well, if the Detective insists," he says with a put-upon sigh, and heads over.

Chloe starts by going and splashing some cold water on her face, because holy shit. She has no idea how she's going to pay Lucifer back for that, but she still pulls out her phone and asks Dan when he can take Trixie next. Dan just sends back _why are you asking? ;)_ and Chloe's not going to deign that with a response.

When she steps out of the bathroom, Lucifer's somehow already got his hair back in place and is leaning over the coffee table with Trixie, looking like the picture of domesticity, and something in Chloe's heart catches.

"Detective!" Lucifer says, looking up at her with a smile. "Come here, tell the urchin that I'm right."

"My teacher said we have to do the math this way," Trixie says, trying to keep her face stern even though she's smiling. "So I have to do it this way!"

"But _this_ way is faster," Lucifer says, stealing her pencil and lifting it higher when she tries to grab it back. "I'm sure your teacher will be fine with it."

"I'm pretty sure she won't be," Trixie says. "She docked me points for doodling on my homework once."

"Did she?" Lucifer says, and his voice isn't _quite_ the same kind of dangerous as it was when he had a blade to Pierce's throat, but there's a hint of _I used to rule Hell_ there.

"We can talk about that with her tomorrow," Chloe says. "And I do mean _talk,_ Lucifer."

"We'll see how things go," Lucifer says, and Trixie giggles.

"Now I see why you and Maze get along," Trixie says, and Lucifer takes the compliment for what it is and preens.

"So, pizza for dinner?" Chloe says.

"I could cook," Lucifer suggests.

"We haven't gotten groceries in what, a week?" Chloe says.

"Well, I've been--distracted," he says. "Catching a criminal mastermind."

"So pizza," Chloe says, and Trixie immediately starts talking about toppings. 

The night passes on normally, which wouldn't be weird except for the fact that technically, there's no reason for them to be doing this anymore. Pierce is in jail, and they have evidence against his entire network, and DNA evidence against him specifically. Charlotte's the best damn lawyer in the city, and they've got an angel and a demon in their corner if they need more help.

Trixie eats three pieces of pizza and yawns so wide Chloe can swear her jaw aches in sympathy. "Time for bed, monkey."

"No," Trixie says, and yawns again.

"Not your best poker face, I'm afraid," Lucifer says cheerfully. He doesn't look the least bit tired.

"Yeah," Trixie admits. "So will you--"

"No poker," Lucifer and Chloe say in unison, though Chloe says it firmly and Lucifer says it like it's a sad truth he's resigned himself to. Trixie makes a face that reminds her of when she and Maze have a plan that Chloe doesn't know about, but Chloe's decidedly _not_ thinking about whatever that means for her. Trixie heads to bed on the other side of the living room, kind-of secluded but not _really,_ and--hm.

Chloe stretches and yawns, and tries not to smile, obvious and pleased, when Lucifer looks down at where her shirt rides up to show her stomach. She does all the things she would normally do if she were going to sleep--brushing her teeth, slipping into a tank top and sweatpants. Lucifer doesn't look away from her for more than a moment.

All this to say, when she half-pushes him onto the bed a half-hour later, he goes easily, leaning up to meet her. She's smiling too much to actually properly kiss him, but so is he, and that only makes her smile more. 

"Detective," he says, pulling back just far enough so their noses brush, voice low so it won't carry. His breath is warm against her face. "You seem eager."

"Christ, Lucifer," Chloe says, and pulls him back in before he can make another joke. He tries to shift, roll over so he's on top, but she moves her hands up to his wrists and pushes him down to lie back fully against the bed. It's a hold he could break easily, even if he didn't have super-strength, but he looks at her with those same dark eyes and doesn't say anything, just raises an eyebrow in silent challenge.

So she leans down, kisses him again, and it's more fond than she meant it to be. He makes that same quiet, pleased noise though, and Chloe grins again. When she'd pictured this, she'd pictured it quick, intense, like that dream before Vegas, like the backseat of the car. But this is--better. Softer.

Lucifer does something with his tongue that has her toes curl, and from the smirk she can feel on his face, he knows exactly what he's doing. She sort of wants to roll back over and let him do more of that and also anything he wants to do with/to her.

Instead, she moves one of her hands from his wrist to his head and tightens her hand in a fist. It's not quite pulling his hair--not enough pressure--but he lets out a contented sigh and tilts his head into it anyway. Chloe studies his face, watches the anticipation turn to annoyance when she doesn't actually tug his head back, and he opens one eye to glare at her.

"You know, I'm not complaining," he says. "All for it, actually."

Chloe leans in a little closer, watches how his entire focus shifts to her lips. "I don't think you can be quiet enough."

They're both still whispering, and Lucifer seems to take it as a challenge. It _is_ a challenge, to be fair, but that's not Chloe's endgame.

"I can manage it," he says. "Although, if you're worried, I _do_ have a variety of--"

She kisses him before he can finish the thought, because much as that sparks interest low in her stomach--

"I'm not fucking you while Trixie's sleeping in the next room," Chloe says, right into his ear, and he still shivers.

"I'm fairly certain most couples manage it, somehow," Lucifer says, still quiet but with an edge of frustration.

"Most couples have doors on their bedrooms," Chloe says, and the expression on Lucifer's face when he looks up at her is going to stick with her for _weeks_.

"Is this payback for the elevator?" he asks, and Chloe has to bite her lip to keep from laughing, and he rolls her over to kiss her, and kiss her again, and again.

* * *

They wake up curled into each other. Chloe had stuck to what she'd said, much as Lucifer had tried to convince her otherwise. She'd been worried, a little, that he'd be genuinely annoyed, frustrated, but he'd stayed relaxed and smiling the whole time. Even if the last thing he'd said to her before they passed out was something about teasing. He'd earned it, anyway.

Lucifer's awake shortly after Chloe, and she watches him blink the sleep from his eyes. Her chest feels like she could burst with how much she loves him, and she's starting to think she needs to put that into words.

"Hey," she says instead, because that's easier.

"Good morning," he says, and the kiss she presses to his lips is soft and quick and domestic and--perfect.

"So," she says, and for all she tries to keep her tone casual, he tenses a bit. "I know that we caught Pierce, and that's why we started--all of this, but--"

"I don't want you to leave," Lucifer interrupts, and he won't quite make eye contact but he's trying, and she quiets down. "I want you to stay here. I want things to stay--" He sighs, frustrated. "It's hard for me to talk about this, but I want--"

"Lucifer, I want to stay married," she says, and she shouldn't interrupt, because she does want to hear whatever he has to say, but the way he looks at her when she says that. "And I get that's moving fast, because we've only technically been together--like, actually together--for what, a few months? But I care about you. I have for a long time. And I don't want to lose this."

She laces her fingers with his, and he looks at her like she hung the stars in the sky.

"Well," he says. "Glad we're on the same page."

Chloe wants to do a lot of things, then, but her phone vibrates where it's on the nightstand, and Lucifer curses something in a language she's pretty sure isn't human.

"If a phone interrupts us one more time--" he says, but she checks the phone anyway.

_hey decker. eve and i already took trixie to school today. have fun ;)_

_p.s. i still think this plan was stupid but i'm glad it worked out_

"Well," Lucifer says, suddenly closer to her than she'd expected. "It looks like we have the morning to ourselves."

"It does," she says, and then they don't say anything much at all.

* * *

_**celestial insiders minus deckerstar group chat** _

_maze:_ fucking finally

 _AngelAmenadiel12:_ How did you get the username maze.

 _maze:_ because i'm better than you next question

 _AngelAmenadiel12:_ And I don't know what finally happened. We took down Cain yesterday.

 _partygirl4ever:_ ;)

 _maze:_ ;)

 _StarTrekIsForBisexiesOnly:_ ;)

 _drmartin:_ Okay first of all: I use this account for work. Stop adding me to this group chat.

 _drmartin:_ Second of all:

 _maze:_ do it

 _maze:_ c'mon please

 _maze:_ linda

 _drmartin:_ ;)

 _maze:_ YES

 _detectivedan:_ WHEN DID I GET IN THIS GROUP CHAT

 _maze:_ chill out man

 _crichards:_ Good for them. Stop spamming my phone 

_maze:_ no and also fuck you

** crichards has left the chat! **

_AngelAmenadiel12:_ I'm happy for them

 _partygirl4ever:_ same!

 _StarTrekIsForBisexiesOnly:_ hey guys! good news and bad news

 _StarTrekIsForBisexiesOnly:_ good news: they showed up to work finally and they're totally cute

 _StarTrekIsForBisexiesOnly:_ bad news: they did see me typing and now chloe knows about this group chat

**Morningstar666 has joined the chat!**

_StarTrekIsForBisexiesOnly:_ and now lucifer is joining

 _StarTrekIsForBisexiesOnly:_ whoops too late

 _Morningstar666:_ ;)

**Morningstar666 has left the chat!**

_partygirl4ever:_ legend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone for reading this fic! it's been a journey. to everyone reading it after it's done: know that the readers of this fic who had to wait for chapters were endlessly patient and i appreciate them more than anything, and that i will read and respond to comments for this fic even 20 years from now. i love comments.
> 
> to those readers: see above, and also you guys have been awesome. your comments were all so nice and thoughtful and kind, and made me want to write the fic even when life got CRAZY. i am sorry they didn't on-screen (on-page?) bone but hopefully you got Enough this last chapter. (S5 SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH) and last season i mean holy fuck, y'all, this season ANNIHILATED me.
> 
> you've all been the best readers i could ask for. i promise if i ever write a deckerstar longfic again (and s5 gave me MANY ideas), i will not make y'all wait as long for chapters. 
> 
> i can't think of a good goodbye line please go watch s5 if you haven't. OH. feel free to scream about deckerstar, this fic, chlaze, the show in general in my inbox on tumblr; gilarroyo for main and dryadfiona for writing. ily all. stay safe in these interesting times.
> 
> <3


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